Scream Hello put out a pretty good little EP called Smart & Stupid as a sort of preview for their debut full-length from last year, but unfortunately the album that followed isn’t quite as good. Everything Is Always Still Happening does feature some pretty decent pop-punk tunes as well as some longer and more meandering songs that almost sound a little like The Ataris trying to play Promise Ring cover songs as weird as that is (and strangely accurate too). It also seems like overkill for there to be three songs longer than six minutes on the album. This is pop-punk after all so it just does. Still, it is actually nice to hear a band from New Brunswick that isn’t overly “gritty” and isn’t (I think) made up of hardcore kids playing pop-punk, because the few times that Scream Hello tries their hand at a harder-edged sound, it just comes out sounding forced. It just doesn’t fit… at all. All in all Everything Is Always Still Happening is decent enough, but nothing special. There isn’t really any wow factor here. I mean, what does it say about the band when the best song on the full-length was also on the aforementioned EP, and the EP version is better? Exactly. Still, I’d rather listen to this than 99.9% of the crap played on the radio. I hate dissing albums that are good but that my jaded ears just don’t covet the way they would if I was 17 again.
MP3 | Scream Hello – Vinegar And Baking Soda Everything Is Always Still Happening
In general, I agree with this review. This album is very, very patchy but when it works- damn man, it works.
Not sure I agree with your point about the longer songs though- I think ‘The Kicker’ and ’20,21’ are by far the best material on the album.
Maybe it’s just a lifetime of exposure to quick-fire pop-punk, but there’s a lot of excess and repetition within individual songs (even in their EPs). If they could merge their need for an ‘epic’ sound with their self-evident pop-punk charm, they could be very good indeed.