Another day, another group of bushy-tailed pop-punks looking to find their way in the scene. This time, we’ve got Indiana’s Chin Up, Kid with their full-length debut ‘Swing With Your Eyes Closed’ looking to make a mark. The difference is that, compared to most other chancers, this lot are special; not in recent memory has there been a pop-punk band so utterly derivative with so few defining features as this.

And really, what more is there to say? You’ve got a frontman grounded in an ultra-pronounced American accent; melodic guitar lines that would lead anyone to think that New Found Glory are owed some serious royalties; the dreaded acoustic ballad in ‘Daydreamer’; hell, the artwork of this very album literally has an anthropomorphic slice of pizza on it. Surely that’s bingo already?

That’s not to say that this is necessarily a bad album. Tracks like ‘Turning Point’ and the title track have some decent hooks that would make the prime soundtrack to one of Warped Tour’s smaller stages, and the band clearly know what they’re doing in terms of crafting a crowd-pleasing pop-punk song.

But really, is this what anyone wants? Another pop-punk band playing the umpteenth iteration of what is essentially the same crop of songs? If Chin Up, Kid think this will help them get noticed then more power to them. But, chances are, this won’t be an easy sell in the slightest.

2.5/5

‘Swing With Your Eyes Closed’ by Chin Up, Kid is released on 28th April on Standby Records.

Chin Up, Kid links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp

Words by Luke Nuttall (@nuttall_luke)