Artist: The Classic Crime
Album: Albatross
Label: Tooth and Nail
Tracks: 12
Length: 45:17
Review By: John Durkee

A band that draws comparisons to Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Matchbook Romance, Anberlin and The Juliana Theory incites many to excited anticipation and others to rush to purge themselves. For myself it causes me to scratch my head, as I do like a few of the above bands, but hate the others. Therefore, when reading various reviews of The Classic Crime’s latest album Albatross, I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

What I got was exactly the description I received, and I liked it. Sure, it has moments that are a bit unoriginal, as it uses many of the tropes of pop punk and modern rock, the album utilizes a plethora of musical ideas that are fresh enough to make it enjoyable. With fun vocals that utilize a more staccato rhythm at most times as well as strong riffs and a tendency to be very catchy. Lyrically the album has a mostly positive message on how life is changing, but to make sure to live it to the best of your ability; simple, perhaps, but a much needed message in today’s music scene.

Some more minor criticism for the album is it’s almost overproduction, as in many tracks the sound is so tight it seems to lack much character, making the more dynamic moments seem a bit suffocated. The other major problem of the record is the backing harmonies that are echoed throughout the record. They typically come off a bit too altered, and while I typically can’t pick up the magic touch of Pro Tools on a record, the harmonies seem to have needed touch-ups throughout the record. At times the harmonies are right on and great, and the production comes across smooth and fittingly. So while the production makes the album seem a bit more calculated and forced, Albatross is still quite enjoyable.

Albatross is not here to re-create the wheel or revolutionize its use, but to take an old model and use it well. If a somewhat typical sounding rock based pop punk record with catchy choruses and good vocals sounds good to you, definitely pick this record up.