Album Reviews

The Black Sox Scandal are a pop-punk band out of New Jersey, who have just released a new EP called “In Search Of Brighter Skies”.

They open with “East Coast Bias”, a track that is heavy on both melody and energy and which comes with the kind of confident vocals that are a nice change of the usual high-pitched, nasal vocals that have become the norm in the genre. The only thing you could accuse these guys of at this point, is an over-enthusiastic use of the wah pedal. From there on the band keeps cranking out solid tunes like the more aggressive “Places”, the gang vocal-enhanced “Prophet Margin” and the more contemplative “Cap & Gown”.

I can definitely see this band getting more attention in the future, but they might want to get a better mix next time. The lead guitarist definitely knows his chops, but he’s so up front in the mix that it tends to overshadow the vocals. Fans of Bayside and Anberlin might want to give this one a spin.