Forever the Sickest Kids

Most bands in the same genre as Forever the Sickest Kids—agreeable pop punk—have a big sound on their records but can't necessarily recreate the wall of harmonies and crunchy guitars live. The fact that there are six people in this band suggests that they may have better luck. Forever the Sickest Kids is certainly a mouthful for a band name, but the group is interested in cramming as much as possible into limited space, as is clear from the energy and pace of most of these kicky pop tunes. "Hey Brittany," the song that they had to write after a wrong click on the Pure Volume site meant they'd spent $350 to place a track that didn't yet exist, is perfect soundtrack music: a mere three minutes of big, happy, uplifting noise with an occasional break for contemplation and vocoded vocals, the latter of which recur throughout the record.

It also doesn't fit entirely smoothly into its genre, something that can be said of much of the album. "My Worst Nightmare" has the bratty singing of many a group of tattooed ex-skaters, but it moves quickly into a computery club tune on the chorus, demonstrating that there isn't such a huge gap between different forms of dancing that involve jumping up and down. Underdog Alma Mater is not a place to find deep thoughts, but it reeks of the freedom that comes with the onset of summer, when you’ve finished your finals and can instead spend your time pursuing love and ice cream.

—Hillary Brown
05.22.08