Cincinnati, OH based pop-punkers BoyMeetsWorld have landed with their much anticipated debut album Become Someone. The pop-punkers are making huge waves with their appearance on Warped Tour all summer long, and have moved into the stratopshere with this rattling and explosive blend of pop-punk that will leave you breathless and wanting more all by the time the effort has concluded.
The disc gets off to a roaring start on "Feel It In The Air", an immensley catchy rocker featuring the incredible lead vocals of Craig Sulken, along with his twin brother Ryan on drums and big bro Brad on bass they create an absolutely powerful dynamic that is unmatched by any other group out there today. "So In What?" is another solid number with tightly wound rhythms and an amazing spark set forth right from the start that doesn't let up whatsoever, and illicits fan involvement that will have everyone clamoring over them from head to toe. "Moving On" coninues the melodic onslaught with vivacious rhythms, and some slick guitar work from Andy Richter and Drew Thomason that gets the juices flowing and gets even better the more you hear it. Far and away my favorite song off the record is "Best You've Ever Had", a drop dead amazing track that is the blueprint of what a standard issue pop-punk is track like: passionate vocals, frenetic drumwork, and blazing guitar riffs, there is almost nothing not to enjoy from this song and all the emotions and passion that will stir inside of you as a result of it, simply stunning track all around.
On the second half we hear "You I Belong To", one of the more slower songs that has a mostly acoustic framework, but the real star of the show is Craig's gorgeously crafted vocals that will make your heart grow fonder for the pure passion that is smoldering and flowing right out of the speakers into your ears. "Still I Think" gets us back on the pop-punk trail with vivacious rhythms, and tightly wound vocals that will definitely do you good and invokes a sense of pride and enthusiasm while listening to this record as a whole. "All or Nothing" gets us ready for the conclusion of the album with a barrage of heavy duty instrumentation that has a decidedly harder edged feel to throw fans for a loop, and mix in a little musical diversity as well. The title track wraps it all up here with an interconnected musaical wavelength that spans throughout the course of the album to deliver a ever flowing musical formation that is a musical sight and wonder to behold over and over again. These guys are at or near the top of my musical totem pole as of right now, and are guys that I hold very close and near and dear to my heart as they are some of the most honest, decent, and hard working musicians that I've come across in quite some time. Getting the chance to interview them last summer after their Warped appearance in Mansfield at Buffalo Wild Wings remains one of the highlights of my professional career, and has made what I do for a living that much more fulfilling and enjoyable because of these guys.
All in all, an amazing and top shelf effort from BoyMeetsWorld, a band who are currently moving up into the upper echelon with their high profile appearance on Warped this summer that will definitely get them even more adoring fans than they already have, and plenty more rewards that await at the end of the road. One of the best albums of the year so far!
Album Score: 4.5/5
Track Listing:
- Feel It In The Air
- So in What?
- Rest of Our Days
- Moving On
- Best You've Ever Had
- Where This Road Leads
- You I Belong To
- Interlude
- Still I Think
- All or Nothing
- Become Someone