I’ve got to say I’m glad I let Don Broco’s sophomore album, Automatic, marinate for a while before reviewing it. Despite what you may think, I actually found it really pleasant to listen to the first time around, but it just felt so jarringly different from their latest two efforts that it almost didn’t feel like I was listening to Don Broco at all.
That’s a silly thought, I know now. Sure, the level of pop-punk sound emanating from all fourteen tracks transported me back to the early and mid-2000s, where that sound rang supreme, but after a few more run-throughs, it really did have that Don Broco flair. I do wonder if this album found any extreme success when it was released? The sound is really quite good, but being released in 2015 makes me feel like they missed the wave. Not that people still don’t like pop punk (cough, me), but the hype around it felt a lot less during that time, and even now. Regardless of all that speculation, as I said, it was still a really good record once I gave it a couple shots.
Lead single, and opening track (on the US and Canada re-release), “You Wanna Know” is SO STRONG in its pop punk roots, and it’s catchy as hell. I loved every second of it. Other songs on the record that immediately caught my attention were “Bad Feeling” and “I Got Sick.” I still can’t quite tell if the latter single is about stalking or just obsessing over someone you just started dating. More research is required. Aside from those, title track “Automatic” and “Superlove” were pretty great, along with “Wrong Place Wrong Time.” All of these had really catchy elements, if maybe some corny “ohhs” and “ahhs.” I just haven’t dedicated much time to the pop punk genre recently, so I forgot that was a huge part of it. There were also bits and pieces in this record that reminded me of other bands. In particular, “Tough on You” could have easily made its way onto an early Fall Out Boy album.
Even though I really dug this album in the end, I still can’t listen to “Fire” without cringing the whole time. Also, popular song, “Further,” just never got there for me. And it’s the longest songs on the album, too! “What You Do to Me” and “Let You Get Away” took a hot minute for me to wrap my head around, but then the latter kind of reminded me of something One Direction could have put out and I was totally on board. Overall though, not too many weak points in this album. With that being said, it’s got me a little skeptical to listen to their debut album, Priorities, but I know it needs to happen next. I’m just hoping it’s more in this vein and not much more pop sounding. My acceptance level only expands so far. I’ll obviously report back once I’ve given it a fair shake.
As I’m sure you can tell by now, I love the Don Broco boys, and you need to start listening to them so you can live your best life!