Allister- Dead Ends and Girlfriends

Readers from my blog over the past few months will remember my review of Senses Fail’s album Let It Enfold You. It was an album that I listened to lots in High School, looking back; I am not sure how I did it. Allister’s debut album is also in that class. It’s not nearly as bad an album as Let It Enfold You; it’s just so juvenile on so many levels. It’s not a shock since the band members were just out of High School themselves when they recorded it. Still, if I was to have created an album fresh out of High School, it would not have included some of the material contained on this record.

It’s really my biggest gripe with the record, its immaturity. I mean, for what the record is, it truthfully isn’t bad. For a pop-punk Drive-Thru records band from the late 90s, it’s actually quite good. The music isn’t the most complicated but at the same time, it’s well-played. You can tell by the record that the guys can actually play their instruments. Drummer Tim Rogner does tend to fall into the typical “punk-rock” style of drumming at times, which is to say he plays as fast as possible while repeating the same basic pattern that will be familiar to anyone who has listened to punk over the last 15 or so years. Other than that, the album’s music doesn’t really make the record stick out, but it’s not a complete detriment to its quality either.

Now we come to the lyrics. Before I start, let me preface this by saying, the cover of the Fraggle Rawk theme song is probably the high point of the album. It doesn’t seem that it was some ploy by the band’s management to try to be “unique”. It’s just funny. Also they covered the Backstreet Boys “I want it that way”. That cover actually was a little creepy, since it sounded almost too much like the real thing.

Since Dead Ends and Girlfriends was released, Allister has created two more albums (with one coming later this year). Their lyrics have grown much more “mature” over the years, but this album is pretty rough. Songs like Jacob Thinks I’m Gay seems like something a 13 year old would come up with. Friday Night is another song that anyone over 17 will roll their eyes at. Here’s a sample “Gonna get loaded...were gonna get f**ked up tonight…” A good soundtrack to a 15 year old getting drunk for the first time, but for the rest of society, it just doesn't fly. Those are just two examples. The rest of the album is similar in tone. Like I said, the album really isn’t all that bad; taken for what it is, there has been worse. The immaturity brings the record down though.

Grade---C-