Reunions make me cringe. I’ll just say it like it is. I dislike reunions. A lot. I am always afraid a band will ruin their legacy. Or at the very least it will feel different. This is most likely due to the fact I’m a different person than I was when I listened to a band first. New material just doesn’t have that nostalgic value that some bands or albums can have. Having said that, to me reunions are like accidents: even if you would rather not see them, you can’t help yourself looking. And it isn’t always that bad; every now and then I am surprised by a band that actually makes a reunion work.
I was a bit late to the party, as Travoltas have reunited back in 2014 already and released an EP called The Longest Wait shortly after. (Finally) Hearing about the reunion of Travoltas I couldn’t help myself checking out what they would come up with. After listening to “Dying to do that with you” only ten seconds I contacted White Russian Records asking for a promo. I just needed to check whether this would be one those rare successful reunions.
I’ve been spinning Until We Hit The Shore a lot the past two weeks and I can only conclude that Travoltas managed to make it work and not squander their legacy. Not at all! Until we reach the shore is full with those ultra catchy tunes that carry Travoltas signature sound. For those not in the know: that signature sound is a mixture of The Beach Boys and The Ramones and some 90’s skate punk influences for good measure. In the past the band experimented a bit; those experiments are not to be found on this album. Which is a good thing from my perspective.
There is a downside to this album: it’s only ten songs long. I would not have minded if it was a bit longer. On the upside: the album is packed with hit songs. Every song is a winner on this one. How often do you find albums like that? There’s a couple of songs that stand out: “Tokyo” and “Sugar thing” which are both insanely catchy. And then there’s my absolute favorite of the album: “Dying to do that with you”. I can’t help myself singing along with this track every time I hear it. My girlfriend asked me to stop doing that, but I just can’t help myself (and yeah, my singing is that bad…).
Spinning this over and over again, I can only conclude that summer came early this year. Until We Hit The Shore makes me smile every time I hear it and evokes the feeling I just need to skate (not much of a surfer here, but skating is sometimes referred to as surfing the concrete, so that counts for something, doesn’t it?). I’ve found my summer album for this year. Check the album out and I’m sure you’ll have found it too.
