Heartsounds
“Drifter”
(Epitaph)

Totally Crushed Out loves Heartsounds, if only for the reason that they’re great at playing brash, but melodic, punk rock in the vein of many those 90s bands that I wrote off because they weren’t on Lookout. Having taken a late appreciation for groups like Digger, 88 Fingers Louie and Strung Out, Heartsounds have definitely won me over with their sophomore album (and first proper one on new label Epitaph), “Drifter.”

Like its predecessor in “Until We Surrender,” singers Ben Murray and Laura Nichols trade narrative vocals about adult experiences, instead of your typical “Oh, my girlfriend dumped me at the Serramonte Mall. Sob Sob.”

On tracks like “I Have Nobody to Betray,” “Every Second Counts” and “Don’t Talk with Your Mouth Open,” Heartsounds is able to successfully translate the kind of energy that they bring to their live performance onto its album counterpart – something that usually tends to create gaps in a band’s musical consistency.

For a segment of pop-punk fans, it may take awhile to grow on this album, but make no mistake, it’s certainly solid as fuck.

— Ryan Pangilinan