Set Your Goals
This Will Be The Death Of Us

Summer is Pop Punk time. The right one, though.

Fortunately, these six Californians come to our aid with their second album, for the ever more important Epitaph. The Set Your Goals aren't afraid to play. Notes and fun galore with "This Will Be The Death Of Us". We needed it.

Direct offspring of bands like Blink etc., our guys put together a fast-paced album with choruses to sing along to at concerts and a genuine passion for Punk Rock and Melodic Hardcore, something not common to many bands these days. I bet they could become the next big thing on the international scene. Good for them.

Returning to the strictly musical side, the two singers, Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown, equipped with different vocal styles, alternate perfectly on every track of the CD, just as they did at the time of their debut "Mutiny" which was released a few years ago. Their talent is also evident live (I saw them at the Still Life Fest alongside the talented No Trigger), where you can truly taste the fun and positive energy that every track of theirs exudes.

The band's sound is close to Hardcore, while still maintaining the typical canons of Pop Punk. In short, a less heavy and more punk proposition than other 'ammericani' like A Day To Remember.

The opener and title track perfectly sum up all the characteristics of the band, with an absolutely memorable refrain. The finale is enriched by a cameo from Vinnie Caruana, ex-Movielife. The desire for summer and fun is represented by the perfect "Summer Jam", a true anthem to the beach and parasol season.

The best track on the album is "The Fallen". Extremely fast rhythms and super melodic choruses. "The Few That Remain" continues the theme with the participation, drum roll, of Hayley Williams, singer of Paramore. A very valid song. She does well.

"Gaia Bleeds (Make Way for Man)" is the most Hardcore track on the album, similar to bands like the contemporaneous Comeback Kid. A real punch, in short. Not the best piece, but certainly the most "innovative" as far as the band's discography is concerned.

"This Will Be The Death Of Us" doesn't bring anything new. But it gets me pumped. That can suffice.