Broadway Calls - Broadway Calls
Record Label: Adeline Records
Release Date: July 7, 2007
Pop punk has always been somewhat of a hit or miss for me. There are tons of bands from the genre that I love and a lot that I don't care for. Pop punk has been used to describe bands like blink-182, All Time Low, The Loved Ones, Set Your Goals and the Oregon trio, Broadway Calls whose self-titled debut album really sits in the middle of the two genres.
Their songs are super catchy and have a poppy sound that resembles older blink-182 or Saves the Day mixed with Lifetime. There's just something about Broadway Calls that makes them stand out from all of the other pop punk bands that are plastered all over MTV, Fuse or MTVU (whatever channel they actually show music videos nowadays). They sound just a bit more humble, honest and down to earth than most bands you see out there today.
This album is full of fun anthems like "Call It Off," "Back to Oregon," and "Suffer the Kids." The first ten tracks or so are pure gold as far as pop punk is concerned. Great fun tracks to sing along too. The lyrics on some tracks have a serious message like "Suffer the Kids" telling how the current generation of kids have to deal with the flaws of the past and the realization of how harsh reality is on "Van Rides and High Tides." The band makes great use of gang vocals on "Escape from Capitol Hill," "Call It Off" and the powerful "Save Our Ship." The latter starts off as a slow acoustic ballad but turns very powerful once the full band kicks in near the middle of the song.
That song is also the turning point of the album. After it comes an interesting cover of The Smiths' "A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours." It's a very bold cover that is done well but it's very different from the original version and will probably see a lot of mixed reactions. The other acoustic number is "Meet Me at Washington Park" which clocks in at less than 90 seconds and leads into "So Long My Friend" which uses a horn section that will surprise listeners as the album comes to a close.
This album is very impressive for a debut album, especially for a band so young. They've already have a decent fanbase in the underground but we'll just have to see how well they will fare in the mainstream. Ty Vaughn's vocals do come across as whiny on some parts and might turn off some audiences, but it didn't get in the way of me enjoying this album. The first half of this album has a lot of radio friendly tracks, and those are the best tracks on the album. The latter tracks where they get more experimental are hit or miss. Needless to say, Broadway Calls have a bright future ahead of them if they can keep pumping out solid albums like this.
I don;t mean this in a bad way, I mean your review was cool and all but...THE ALBUM'S CALLED OREGON FOOL!!! And you failed to mention that they have a clearly audible Green Day Influence. Other that that it was cool.
I don;t mean this in a bad way, I mean your review was cool and all but...THE ALBUM'S CALLED OREGON FOOL!!! And you failed to mention that they have a clearly audible Green Day Influence. Other that that it was cool.
Before you start correcting people you might actually want to know what you're talking about, it's self titled.
I own the album, I bought it at a show. It came up as 'Oregon' on my computer so unless the bought CD is lying to me....I guess its possible.
I'm guessing you put it in on itunes which is shocking for coming up with the right titles. It's definitely self titled as I've heard the band themselves refer to it as self titled. Also I used to work part time in HMV and it's on the database as Broadway Calls - S/T
I'm guessing you put it in on itunes which is shocking for coming up with the right titles. It's definitely self titled as I've heard the band themselves refer to it as self titled. Also I used to work part time in HMV and it's on the database as Broadway Calls - S/T
Well thats annoying, I see wikipedia and some other palces call it self titled also.
I definitly bought the physical copy, not on itunes, at a show, and it called itself Oregon. There you go.
This is indeed a great album and I recommend anyone to pick it up. We played these guys a few months ago our podcast and they are great guys. Give this one a listen for sure!
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