Veara – What We Left Behind

To be honest, the sticker plastered across the front of Veara’s debut Epitaph Records album, What We Left Behind, in hopes of promoting the album and enticing people to buy it did the exact opposite to me. It made me shiver in fear of another generic and bland band like Sing It Loud and they did it all by using the term “pop-mosh.” Pop-mosh is a term I have rarely heard but one that carries with it a negative connotation – for me anyway; and as a general rule, I’d probably stay away from anything marketed as “pop-mosh.”

So imagine my surprise when I popped in What We Left Behind and discovered that it was good. Like really good. Like really, really good. Because it is and after close to a dozen listens, the feeling still hasn’t worn off.

At its core, What We Left Behind is an energetic, happy-go-lucky pop-punk album; and at it’s farthest reaches, its stays the exact same. There’s something incredibly freeing about a no-frills pop-punk record and Veara have honed in on it here. There’s no cheesy gimmicks, no far-fetched concept, no tough-guy posturing and, most importantly, no hipster, poppy douchbaggery (I’m looking at you 3Oh!3, All Time Low,  Call The Cops, Cute Is What We Aim For and so on). Instead What We Left Behind is fast, catchy, hook enriched, energetic and fun and throughout it all I can only think of New Found Glory’s self-titled album. Just listen to the final thirty seconds of We Have  A Body Count and try not to imagine NFG, it’s impossible. Hell, Better Off Without You could be a Sticks and Stones b-side in more ways than one.

The hooks are there, the fast paced (almost hardcore) drumming is there, the melodic vocals sound exactly like Jordan Pudnik and the occasional gang vocal chant is a constant reminder of Chad Gilbert.  The only difference is that Veara aren’t quite as catchy as New Found Glory. The vocals are catchy enough to get you singing along while it’s playing, but aren’t the kind to get entrenched in your memory forever. It’s probably due to the occasionally weak lyrical content which seems oddly high-schoolish but is delivered in such a way that I’m able to easily forgive them for it.

At the end of the day, What We Left Behind is a pop-punk album for pop-punk fans. There’s not a lot in there that makes it truly memorable, which may make it difficult to stand the test of time; but as it stands, it remains one of the best straight forward pop-punk records I’ve heard in a while. It has a fantastic nostalgia element to it thanks to its many New Found Glory cues and even outshines Not Without A Fight at times making What We Left Behind the carefree album of the summer.

So grab the album, throw it on and listen to Role Models, Waste My Time, Head For The Hills, My Bside Life or Better Off Without You and try not to smile or sing along – you won’t be able to nor will you want to.