3 out of 5

Label: Big Wheel Recreation

Produced by: Paul Q. Kolderie

Kind of the definitive Piebald album; one that I certainly enjoy; but also ultimately the album – outside of its singles – I return to the least. It shows off the group’s poking at Beatles-esque melodies and notes of 70s fuzz, and just in general (with a production upgrade) playing further afield of a pop-punk template, but in the process of landing on some ultimate singalongs, the bulk of the music also gets really, really streamlined. The unfortunate “reality” is that this release is what had me brushing the group off as early 00s scenesters – somewhere along the MxPx and Blink182 axis – and not really able to get on board until the next album shifted further forward into poppier pop and rockier rock.

Revisiting the album for review, it really is chockfull of memorable melodies as per usual, with every song having either one of Shettel’s ear worm choruses or a bridge / hook that turns a standard track into something suddenly catchy as heck. Lyrically, this is a huge leap forward from Venetian Blinds, with Travis no longer straddling youth and adulthood: these are all pretty sober tales (if told with a smile and funny title) that tell of eyes opening to some of the world’s grayer realities. Those lyrics give a lot of weight to the popcorn music: big name producer Paul Q. Kolderie (Radiohead, Pixies…) helps the band zero every track into no-filler singledom, and opens them up to extra electronics and keys and effects to supplement their sound. Both are plus/minuses, as the former definitely makes the album go down super easy, and kind of tricks you into hearing every track like the breakout singles – when the actual breakout singles (American Heart, Just a Simple Plan) are somewhat fewer overall; the latter adds dimension but also feels a little forced at points, not quite bridging the gap between early 00s pop and the 80s glamor vibes of some of the keys and such.

Hence this having the distinction of being the album that I probably play those key tracks off of to introduce folks to the band’s sound, while ultimately steering them towards a different album – and not revisiting it that often myself.