Broadway Calls - “Broadway Calls”

Basically this is adept pop-punk; it’s pervasively jaunty and optimistic throughout, with mild allusions to nameless political strife somewhere off in the distance. As a new addition to Billie Joe Armstrong's Adeline label and with a slot on the US Warped tour, Broadway Calls can expect considerable attention. So success - limited at least - is virtually assured. At which point they will join the ranks of a billion other identical bands at varying stages of growth or decay. Pop-punk as a genre carries the unfortunate stigma of encompassing everyone from the credible Hot Water Music to the contemptible Busted so that classic examples, like Armstrong's own Dookie, are to be treasured. Sadly this isn't one. You might well enjoy this album but there are so many hundred hours of virtually identical fare already out there that, although it isn't bad, it is an entirely non-essential purchase if you’ve never dabbled. [Chris Cusack]