Farewell Continental went great lengths to keep their members secret for some time. While not anywhere close to a secret anymore the band divorce themselves in a big way from their day jobs. While their main gig may act as signs of what you would get it doesn't quite prepare the listener for what is to come upon popping the disc into the player.
The band had released two well received Eps in the past. This gives a clue as to what to expect. The band deals in massive hooks and dual male female vocals. So far i could be getting close to describing Motion City Soundtrack. Where this band differs is in two major ways, the band concentrates on hooks and being succinct in their songwriting. This allows the album to go by at warp speed while not forgetting the hooks that are oh so necessary in this style of music.
The main focus, as in most pop acts, are the vocals. The male vocals as provided by Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack seem to dominate. While this doesn't seem to be on purpose Justin's vocals are much stronger than his female counterpart. The Female vocals are not bad they just aren't special either they do provide a very interesting counter to the male lead. The next thing to note is the guitars. The hooks are in full view throughout the record. Giving something for the listener to cling onto without taking focus off of the vocals. In reality each player is strong throughout the record picking up and strengthening when necessary.
The songs themselves are generally power pop with a slight bit of pop punk mixed in, As mentioned prior the band concentrates on the hook more than anything. Everything stylistically is based around what the hook calls for. This makes for overly catchy songs that stand out above anything else involved. The band have gone a long way to do something separate from their day jobs while not disappointing their fans either.
What has occurred is the band has made a simple, catchy and fun record. For the most part that is enough sadly the energy of the first half of the album wears off in the second. So while the band retains the hooks they slow the whole thing down which makes the record a very divided affair.
