Every Avenue – Ah!

The instant I heard this record, my first thought was: I wonder if this singer does anything else in the band? The answer to that was no – and I was disappointed. Every Avenue is your now all-too-common five piece emo/pop-punk band when they should just be a simple three piece pop-punk band. Instead they throw on an extra guitarist that does little to add to the sound and vocals which are far too simple for them to be the only thing occupying the singer. If he took up the guitar himself and played that while singer, then already I would have had a better feeling for this record.

As it is though, I still rather enjoy Ah!. It is energetic and catchy with vocal harmonies that really get stuck in your head. The opening track, One More Song, is the perfect example of that. It has been all too long since a chorus has jumped out at me with such force as this one did; and while the song does drag a little bit, the chorus is always able to pull you back into it. Plus, the short ska bit thrown in the middle is quite entertaining too.

In a way, the all the songs on the EP follow that same pattern. Good, simple pop-punk songs with as much of a Mayday Parade sound as there is a Knockout sound. They are consistently catchy and enjoyable but always start to drag a bit near the end. The chorus then jumps in to pull the listener back into the song and for good measure they add a little extra nugget somewhere in the song to diversify the sound a little bit. Nothing starts off with a bunch of programming effects from drummer Michael Govaere that reminds me of Action, Action while Picking Up The Pieces sees the vocals becoming slightly distorted with some more programming layered softly in the background in such a way that I can’t help but think about The Reunion Show‘s Kill Your Television.

However, no matter how much I can enjoy and bop my head along with the beat on Ah!, I can’t help but feel that the record is stagnant and missing something vital. It seems all too complacent and nothing truly leaves much of an impression. Just another release to plop alongside prior releases from Fearless/Hopeless/ etc. Some slight potential, but really, Every Avenue has no staying power and the EP is ultimately incredibly forgettable and because of that I don’t see Ah! staying for long in my CD player nor do I see much longevity in Every Avenue‘s career.