The Projection - While You Were Out

The Projection “While You Were Out”, 2012

I confess that it’s been a while since I’ve paid much attention to recent pop punk.  I remember listening to that Blink 182 album with the porn star in a nurse uniform on the cover with friends and thinking that song sounds like The Descendents. Then listening to the entire album a number of times and finding all the songs sounded the same then recently the second album of Chicago pop punk band The Projection turned up on my desk.  With the occassional use of synthesizers, the band are undeniably more on the pop side than the punk side.  

The band write syrupy sweet super-catchy songs brimming with chirpiness that do bring the likes of Blink 182 and recent Green Day to mind.  There’s a definite radio-friendliness to most of the tracks.  “Trying to Forget” is a synthed pop-punk take on the same theme as “You’re So Vain”  “Just Be Yourself” betrays its title as it sounds like slower Green Day.  “Not a Day Goes By”  is not a Leatherface cover but a sucrose covered  pop song.  “Rock Stars” is typical pop punk fare with cheesy lyrics covering the band’s desire to get girls and have boys want to be in bands.

It’s hard to deny that this band has a high likeability factor on “While You Were Out” even if they do traverse territory that will be very familiar to those that enjoyed 90’s pop punk.  There is enough variety to the band’s songs that make repeat listenings highly enjoyable.

4/5

The Projection's website