Album Review: Grown Ups - 'More Songs'

7 June 2010 | 1:38 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Look out for this band in the future.

To be completely honest, I didn’t even know that Grown Ups existed until I received their album in the mail, and since then it has been on high rotation. With a sound that could be described as Latterman mixed with Cap’n Jazz, with a dash of Lifetime thrown in, Grown Ups have produced an album packed full if energetic choruses and moments that just keep sucking you in and refusing to let go.

From the opening bass line in “Weed Science”, the rough, yet capturising vocals by the band’s vocalist and guitarist Doyle Martin, and the infectious melodies delivered by the band’s rhythm section, you can tell that something exciting is about to happen here. If tracks like “Johnny Edwards”, “Spider Mansion” and the album’s closing track “Are You Shitten Me?” aren’t enough to get you hooked on this band, then I don’t know what else will. Those three songs alone are prime examples of what Grown Ups have to offer musically, and as the album is ironically titled, leave you wanting “more songs”.

Throughout the album the guitarists Martin and Adam Sheets have gathered themselves army of riffs and spread them across the 10 tracks, which allowed the band to keep the album fresh and interesting. It appears the band has found a winning formula with these guitar parts, something that allows the band’s songwriting talent to shine through.

While there is nothing pretty or appealing about the vocal delivery on the album, they flow with the music perfectly and offer something unique to the sound the band is pulling off, something which is giving them an edge and is a real highlight of the album.

Although this album may not be flawless, it manages to hold your attention throughout its duration, a feat that many bands struggle to do when they make the jump to the full-length format.

With a bio that begins with “If Grown Ups was your collage professor, “More Songs” would be Advanced Emo Mathematics with a refresher course in Punk Philosophy”, you could tell that the album was going to be memorable. “More Songs” is a fantastic debut album from the band, which isn’t going to be forgotten by me anytime soon. I am excited to see where this band goes in the future.

1. Weed Science

2. Johnny Edwards

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3. Three Day Weekend

4. Six More Weeks Of Winter

5. Surprise Party

6. Pears

7. Open Sesame

8. Orange Cat

9. Spider Mansion

10. Are You Shitten Me?