Kempsey

A Collection of Colour and Thought (2006)

MrUnlimited

The very first thought that popped into my head: "Another pop-punk band decided to add a keyboard after hearing Motion City Soundtrack on an Epitaph sampler."

In Australia I've noticed a surge of these bands in the last couple of years, and I'm sure in the USA they're a dime a dozen, but here the kids lap them all up. The songs are generic -- not terrible, but by no means anything special. All the usuals you'd expect to hear are here: hand claps, double vocals, cheesy lyrics and the above-mentioned keyboard. The production is quite crisp, but then again I doubt a band of this nature could get by without it.

There is a whisper of promise, though; frankly, it would have made more sense to reverse the track order. The final two tracks, "Day Into Night" and "Blue Light Disco" are easily the most generic, but also the most catchy; had I not been reviewing the record I wouldn't have got this far and the disc would never had returned to my stereo.

Having not seen Kempsey live, perhaps my judgement is impaired, but the record is very plain and doesn't stir up much feeling throughout its duration. The phrase 'bubble pop-punk' springs to mind, and I'm in no rush to have another listen.