Stereo Age
Half of us

A few years ago, I was certainly not lenient towards Stereo Age; their debut album "Strong Enough" (review available here) certainly did not go down in history as a cornerstone of pop-punk, quite the opposite perhaps... Today, a few years later and after a decidedly long period of silence for a new generation band, they are back with "Half of Us." Honestly, I don’t know what happened to them in the time between one chapter and the next, but the fact is that nowadays, Stereo Age finally have some cards to play. Perhaps it’s thanks to the new U.S. pop-punk scene (see Neck Deep, The Story So Far, Hit The Lights, and so on) that has definitely shuffled the deck, or perhaps more simply thanks to a band that has absorbed the criticisms and compliments received for the previous EP, working hard to improve as much as possible. "Half of Us" is an enjoyable work, boasting a few potential singles that aren't bad at all, and it has a rock soul at its core that, all in all, doesn’t hurt one bit. We're talking about pop-punk, of course, so it’s about catchy rhythms, choruses that get stuck in your head at first listen, and easy listening melodies, but the fact remains that we’re finally not facing a poor imitation of Blink 182, Ataris, and dinosaurs of the genre. There’s an eagerness to create and it’s quite noticeable, as is the good vocal performance provided by the singer, almost perfect for the genre interpreted. In short, a nice piece of work, starting with the artwork in my opinion, well done.