Album Reviews

- by Nate Hennon

Since the first time I heard “A New Kind of Army” by Anti-Flag I have become accustomed to associating Pennsylvania with great punk music. In recent years, this fascination with this Mid-Atlantic state only grew deeper when I discovered their great modern punk scene. Between Title Fight, The Menzingers, and The Wonder Years, numerous great bands call this state home and Mike Bell & The Movies is no different. Hailing from Philadelphia, Mike Bell & The Movies look to be added to the list of Pennsylvania greats with their latest release, “Room”.

Sadly, the album suffers from being booked ended by two clunkers. “The Unwanted Dead” is a boring start to an overall fun album. Likewise, “Philadelphia Girls (Winter Edition)” is conveniently located at the end of the album and very easy to skip. However, the bouncy basslines, fun drum patterns and sing-along choruses of “The Cedar Point Incident” and “Kung Fu Nightmare” are bound to become crowd favorites. Although “Room” is filled with hooks, it can come across as “pop- punk by the numbers”. Even though Mike Bell & The Movies do not break the mold established by their predecessors, “Room” contains some pop-punk gems that should become staples of any late 90’s pop punk fan’s playlist.