Album Review: Safety Word Orange - Acceptance

I'm running out of intro ideas for pop punk records. Commenting on the scene, the good and the bad, has been done to death. This is where I rack my brain trying to think of a joke to do with Safety Word Orange's name, but realise it would probably only be for my benefit and not very funny. All jokes (or lack of them) aside, the Virginia 5-piece bring an absolute corker of an EP to the virtual table with 'Acceptance'.

So often bands of this ilk make distinctly average sounding songs, lack-luster verses supplemented by a catchy enough chorus. Bands that you've heard a million times before. (I considered that a million may be a slight exaggeration, but then thought that there might actually be a million rubbish pop punk bands and decided to go with it. Nobody is going to count them, so I'm sticking to my guns until someone does.) Safety Word Orange do not fit this description.

It's interesting, pop punk often had the ability to make songs with distinctly serious serious subject matters sound wonderfully chirpy. As they themselves state, “we’re sharing stories that deal with real life struggles and problems, while still creating a sense of hope for our listeners.” And opener 'Sound The Alarm' is a stereotypically sugar coated jump-up-and-down track, reminiscent of early Mayday Parade, but still manages to maintain a credibility that is often lost on the genre.

The comparisons to Mayday Parade are even stronger on 'Tin Can Telescope', but this shouldn't be read as a criticism. Despite it's considered sound and structure however, the song does drown slightly in its cliches ("So run away with me, don't say no / I'll take you anywhere you wanna go, you'll never be alone") but that is soon forgotten by the time the final two offerings are through. 'Breathe' and '459' both show brilliant pace (and changes of) that serve to keep your intrigue right to the very end, the latter being the highlight of the EP, powering along three and half minutes in typically "woah" filled fashion.

4/5

'Acceptance' by Safety Word Orange is available now.

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Liam McGarry