3 out of 5

Label: Side One Dummy

Producer: Paul Q. Kolderie

I guess I lumped Piebald in with dumb high-school rock for a longtime, and I dunno why, since they came from the hardcore scene… oh, maybe that’s why.  Too many tattooed kids wearing Piebald T’s.  Anyhow, when I worked at Tower, “All Ears…” was sitting on or promo shelf and yeah, maybe I was going to commit a crime and sell it but I tried to be “honest” about selling my promos by forcing myself to listen to them first.  Surprise: I ended up liking Piebald.  I think my initial shock of how catchy this album was wore off – it was stuck in my player for a while – and now I can recognize it as pretty standard rock-pop with some grrreeat hooks toward the middle of the album.  Piebald’s farewell album is a gem, and they give some indication of the polish of that here, but some Ben Foldsy piano-pop and immature lyrics keep it from feeling like something you want to blast out of your speakers.  That being said, between the sorta mish-mashy tracks, that are just sing-song vocals and some poppy guitar work, the crew builds up some tracks that just latch on to you and make you want to sing.  STAY AWAY FROM ME WHEN THAT HAPPENS.  Beep boop.