Suburban Home sure has been putting out some good music these days. As much as I’m sure this band doesn’t want to hear this comparison, it is truly inevitable – THE FAIRLANES sound a whole lot like a much more mature (and talented!) BLINK 182. I just can’t get over how similar the vocalists sound, which isn’t really a bad thing, but it does get a tad grating after awhile. Fortunately, these guys know how to rock that melodic punk stuff dang well, and the recording on here certainly allows the band to shine more so than on any of their previous efforts (8 Houses Studio – great sound!). Diversity in song style is a bit harder to come by in this genre, but THE FAIRLANES show off some wicked song structures, and a variety of tempos. As with the recent GAMITS release on the same label, both bands excel in tracking their disc very well. I really like it when no two songs sound the same back to back, and these guys avoid that pitfall. Lyrically, the songs fall into that personal range – but more uplifting than not. There are more than a few lyrical lapses into esoteric allusions (and sometimes goofiness) and what not, but they don’t last too long. If you like COOTER (now AUTOPILOT OFF), GAMITS, OVER IT, NEW FOUND GLORY, BLINK 182, or any of of the other hosts of the pop-punk kingdom, these guys will float your boat too as they hold their own in the category. One side note: In the lyric booklet, there is a short story about how all these guys, (all college grads) put their careers (chemical engineer, network administator, etc..) on hold to do this band full time, and I must admire that drive. I hope it all works out for them. “Welcome to Nowhere” isn’t a ground breaking album, but when put up against the legions of other discs put out by bands playing this style, it stands out far and wide as one of the best.

Suburban Home

www.suburbanhomerecords.com