Named after the mythological monster that may or may not lurk in the waters of Lake Erie off Northern Ohio, South Bay Bessie's sophomore full-length and the followup to their self-titled LP, It's About Time, is formulaic, bratty-sounding pop-punk, that may or may not eventually lurk in your CD player. Whereas most pop-punk bands who rely on an incredibly annoying brattiness dwell in an adolescent whine, this brattiness is exposed in a much more mature voice with deeper vocals from more grown-up individuals. It's a weird alternative that still doesn't fly well though, especially in "I Hate Math." Yeah, I don't think there's a need to explain that one further. Although, to be fair, that's the most direct sign of blatant immaturity to be found on the disc. The press release cites Green Day as an influence among others, but I'd say this particular one is quite agreeable. There's some definite shades of mainstream pop-punk (read: the good side of) in the vein of Green Day shining through here, albeit a bit more sugary, and the dual vocals work in favor of attention-grabbing, but the well for variation and non-filler runs dry as the album progresses. The first half is half-decent and gets your foot tapping, but the second passes through without a sign of aural interest. I literally didn't even notice it ended until about twenty minutes after the last song. One other completely inane complaint of mine includes the band's odd fascination with parentheses. Sure, only four of the thirteen track names implement them, but really - "(Your) Kids (Are Gonna) Love It!?" That's not even really...funny...unless it's an inside joke. Yeah. It must be. You probably know by now whether or not you'll dig this, but here's some clinchers that'll affirm your decision. MP3s
(The North American) Bible Salesman
(I Never Really Liked) Purple Anyways