Wakefield

American Made (2003)

Joe Sherrod

Wakefield begins their debut album by delcaring themselves sell-outs, in an attempt to sarcastically assert themselves as cooler than everyone that calls them sell-outs.

Well, since most people aren't members of a decent sounding pop-punk/emo band, the Wakefield guys are probably cooler than anyone that'll call them sell-outs. LIke me.

Wakefield, you're sell-outs.

Just about every song on the album is your basic catch-ridden teenage rant about girls. And they didn't write all their songs on their own. Boo.

The guitar work is somehow reminiscent of any majorly successful pop-punk bands you could think of. I am reminded of New Found Glory, Sugarcult, and even Simple Plan all over the album. Except for the emo tracks, the guitar work in which could be a cross between Jimmy Eat World and something I can't quite put my finger on.

Maybe the biggest saving grace this band has, is that every band-member vocally contributes something to the album. Their single, "Say You Will", has a whole lot of harmonizing, but since this is pop-punk, and not emo it doesn't involve any long drawn out notes, so it's like one big sing-a-long with the whole band. The thing is, after hearing it a few times, you probably will feel like joining in.

Unoriginality aside, this album is a fine listen for the average pop-punk and emo fan. It's even littered with emo tracks, like "Heaven's Coming", and with the whole band singing, it's a bit of a different experience. Especially since it's not horrifically off-key, like Taking Back Sunday tends to be. Since this album is a bit of a hybrid between pop-punk and emo, switching between the genres at every other track at times, it's hard to judge. The emo is a lot better than the pop-punk. The pop-punk is a bit generic for my tastes. But overall the album is a solid listen, without any tracks sounding bad enough to flat out skip over.

Definitely check it out.