I doubt that Monty Are I will be the next big thing. But damn, they sure are trying.

Monty Are I can be wedged right there along with Matchbook Romance's new release and I Am Ghost, easily. I won't be surprised if Epitaph adds them to their lineup in the near future.

With that said, I bet most of you have already turned away from your computer in disgust. Well, unlike say, I Am Ghost, Monty Are I can be saved. They display the talent to write very catchy pop-punk. Unlike most bands in their genre they do not sound whiny; their lead vocalist strays from the normal pseudo-sadness that seems to unnecessarily tinge most other vocalists in the genre.

Also, they don't necessarily depend on guitars always, sometimes craftily using well-laid out pianos or synths. The band's backup vocals are occasionally produced to sound like church choruses which give it, I guess, an extra touch. It's not necessarily good, but it's a welcome change. The album's highlight (which is sadly, the closer), "Tie Off Your Veins" features a brass section almost making it sound like if Monty Are I were a darker ska band (in any case, not a very good ska band). I won't even go into the lyrics, because it's the same stuff you've heard before in other bands that play this kind of music.

Monty Are I will just be another band tossed into the oozing pool of emo music that's taking over everything these days. But they can be saved -- maybe if they worked with horns more often and did become a mournful ska band they would be something new, and maybe even original. They definitely have the imagination to be different, but they haven't decided what yet. The choice is yours, Monty Are I.