The Friday Night Boys - Off the Deep End

The Friday Night Boys are fairly new to the music scene, forming in 2006 and releasing a mere two EPs until Off the Deep End dropped on June 9th of this year. However, being a new band didn't stand in their way from releasing their debut full-length complete with a boom box-blasting, foot-tapping, voice-belting sing-a-long feel. The Friday Night Boys have already produced radio-friendly tracks, and proved that they have the potential to reach that status. While that is considered more than a compliment to the young band, it is a possible automatic turn-off from an audience perspective. Unfortunately, the term "radio-friendly" today often provides a mental picture of the groaning frustration that comes along with changing the car radio station a million times, trying to find a decent track. As those individuals are aware of, I included, this is because bubble-gum pop along with cliché lyrics are definitely seen and overplayed many, many times too frequently, and that “radio genre” gets old, rusty, and flat-out annoying.

However, there’s no denying that The Friday Night Boys are good at what they do. With tracks like "Permanent Heartbreak", "Stupid Love Letter", "Suicide Sunday", and "Stuttering", it's easy to feel the rush this band can bring you. The ballads, "Finding Me Out", and my personal favorite, "Can't Take That Away" finally add some variety to the album and both are beautifully done. Still catchy and Off the Deep End-fitting, soft sounding instrumentals surround the tracks, just to turn into full-blown jams as the songs progress. The middle of the album is when it begins to go downhill a bit, losing the spark present in the beginning. Fortunately, the end of the album redeems itself, including the redone Alex Gaskarth-featured song, "Molly Makeout".

In short, The Friday Night Boys are just yet another pop-punk band. Their music isn't mind-blowing, nor is their talent sky-high, and they will get repeatedly dissed for their lack of originality. Generally speaking, if you're a pop-punk lover, you will enjoy this record. Pop-punk haters: this will be nothing more than just another bad pop-punk album. For the genre, Off the Deep End is solid record and is easily comparable to All Time Low's So Wrong, It's Right or a poppy version of A Rocket to the Moon's Greetings From... EP. Off the Deep End is a must-have for this summer's CD collection - just don't count on it living on when the summer dies out.