Man Overboard “Self Titled” review
Man Overboard
Nik – bass/vocals
Zac – Guitar/vocals
Justin – Guitar
Wayne – Guitar
Mike – Drums
*review by Taylor Pesqueira
@Taylor_Sailor
New Jersey based pop punk band that was established in 2008 and are currently part of the Rise Records family. Check them out on the Pop Punk’s Not Dead Tour with New Found Glory, Set Your Goals, The Wonder Years, and This Time Next Year.
Track List:
1. Rare
2. Teleport
3. Voted Most Likely
4. Dead End Dreams
5. Somethings Weird
6. Punishment
7. Not The First
8. Headstone
9. Spunn
10. Picture Perfect
11. Night Feelings
12. Atlas
Man Overboard’s self titled release is a solid pop punk album. I don’t follow pop punk very much but as soon as I heard this i knew there was something GOOD about this album. I know i’ve fallen off the map of the pop punk scene, but when I heard Man Overboard’s self titled release I felt like I never left, and that all pop punk music made after 2004 was this good. Sadly to say that is not the case, but Man Overboard revives the sound that pop punk has been lacking the last few years.
Overall I give this album a B- because it has everything that a good Pop punk record should have: uptempo music with easy relatable lyrics, and overlapping harmonies that get back to the sound of pop punk at it’s peak in the early 2000’s. It can’t go without mentioning that Steven Klein (New Found Glory) was the producer of Man Overboard’s self titled release. It is obvious that he guided the band in the right direction; bring back the catchy, poppy songs that I feel the scene has been lacking for a long time.
As soon as the music starts “Rare” sets up the album perfect. It lets you know exactly what you’re going to expect. It’s also ironic because Man Overboard starts the album off with a song titled “Rare” and the band doesn’t play anything nearly this fast, so it also gives the reassuring feeling that the album can only go up from this point. The only thing I don’t like about this song is the drum fill and guitar change up into the chorus because it seems rushed; it takes a few listens to get conditioned to that awkward transition but once you get use to it there’s nothing wrong with this song. After “Rare” is finished it flows effortlessly into “Teleport”. “Teleport” is one of the key tracks on the album because it has those isolated guitar and vocal parts that pop punk is infamous for. It also has the perfect harmonies and guitar tones, a grade A pop punk song.
“Dead End Dreams” is also a key track because it gets back to the elements that makes pop punk what it is. It has a sound that is directly influenced by The Starting Line’s “Best of You”. People often say that Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and I feel like that is what Man Overboard is doing with this track. Their not totally biting the style of someone else, they’re just meshing they’re style with someone else who paved the way by adding their own twists or interpretations.”Picture Perfect” is another song that stands out to me because it starts off slow with that simple catchy pop punk guitar and soft lyrics and as soon as you get into the mellowness of the song it picks up. It’s another song that has you tapping your feet along to the beat.
When I listen to Man Overboard’s self titled release I like how it has a steady climb of the next song being a little better than the previous song. I stopped following pop punk because there was an abundance of really bad material that was also borderline on happy emo (if that’s possible). I also fell out pop punk because i found new genres of music with a more consistent flow of good music (thank you Fat Wreck Chords and Iron Maiden), but if pop punk kept a constant flow of good music and had releases that are like Man Overboard’s self titled release I might have followed the pop punk scene a little longer. If you’re a fan of pop punk I recommend buying Man Overboard (self titled) and giving it a listen.
Tour Dates:
Oct. 6 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
Oct. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ House of Blues
Oct. 8 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
Oct. 10 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
Oct. 11 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
Oct. 12 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
Oct. 14 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
Oct. 15 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
Oct. 16 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
Oct. 17 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
Oct. 19 – Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm
Oct. 20 – Charlotte, NC @ Amos’ Southend Music Hall
Oct. 21 – Richmond, VA @ The National
Oct. 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Oct. 23 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
Oct. 25 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
Oct. 26 – Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon
Oct. 27 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
Oct. 28 – New York @ Best Buy Theatre Times Square
Oct. 29 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
Oct. 31 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Zoo
Nov. 1 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Cleveland
Nov. 3 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
Nov. 4 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Nov. 5 – St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
Nov. 6 – Iowa City, IA @ The Blue Moose Tap House
Nov. 8 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Nov. 9 – Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre
Nov. 10 – Denver, CO @ Odgen Theatre
Nov. 11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Grand @ The Complex
Nov. 13 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox @ The Market
Nov. 14 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Nov. 16 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
Nov. 17 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
Nov. 18 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
Nov. 19 – Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Cafe
Nov. 20 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues San Diego
www.defendpoppunk.com
www.riserecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/ManOverboardNJ
http://twitter.com/#!/ManOverboardNJ
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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