Man Overboard – Self Titled

Man Overboard take their name from a Blink 182 song and they sound like a tribute band that is focused only on the middle section of their career. As Blink releases their decidedly non punk pop album,Man Overboard keeps the sound that they love alive by creating it themselves. Of course, using a word like “creating” implies that they are being creative, when in reality they are recycling bits and pieces of other bands in the genre to make their own songs. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing however as Man Overboard has created a quality album that blends their influences to create their own identity.

Lead off track, Rare, combines whiny vocals a la Jordan Pundik (New Found Glory) with a dual vocalist trade off similar to Set Your Goals without actually sounding too much like either of those bands.Punishment can be easily identified as being released during 2011, while Something’s Weird sounds like Cheshire Cat-era Blink from 1994. The band tries their hand at modern melodic punk on Not the First and almost succeeds, but they shine brightest when they are looking to the past. While the band bounces all across the limits of the pop punk genre, they fail to focus on their strengths. The album feels a little too schizophrenic, especially when coming from an already established band.

With the recent revival of the pop punk genre there are countless bands out there looking to capitalize on the spotlight. Man Overboard will satisfy fans of Blink 182 who are disappointed with their recent music, but they need to work on forging their own identity if they want to last longer than the temporary genre revival.