We The Kings isn’t exactly ruling the alt-pop-rock-boy-bands-in-tight-pants scene. Sunshine State of Mind

We The Kings

S-Curve Records

Rocks like: Boys Like Girls, Plain White T’s, Jack’s Mannequin

Grade: C

We The Kings isn’t exactly ruling the alt-pop-rock-boy-bands-in-tight-pants scene.

The band isn’t untalented and it definitely has the potential for mainstream radio success — but its music will slide into that high school playlist including Fall Out Boy and Jack’s Mannequin seamlessly.

The new album Sunshine State of Mind is sunny, sometimes adorable and generally enjoyable; but above all, its songs are really, very, incredibly OK. All facets add up to make something that’s … just fine, but in a nice breezy West Coast kind of way.

The band’s lyrics, for the most part, are just so-so.

“Say You Like Me” is a song that sounds like it’s sung by a cocky guy trying to mask obvious insecurity. The vocalist Travis Clark sings as such: “She’s the girl that no one ever knows / Works a double just to buy her clothes / Nicotine and painted dreams / Baby just believe, there’s no one else like me,” followed by a chorus about not leaving or giving up.

These lyrics are awfully presumptuous of the fact that no one else would be interested in this wounded bird of a girl, but then ask this same girl to just “say you like me” in the chorus.

And though the semi-ridiculous verses continue through other songs, they aren’t always for the worst.

“Sleep With Me” is refreshingly candid. Forget the roses, lace and romance — this guy has “cheap words and wine” and damn it, he’d like Heather to sleep with him without delay. But at the very least, this song, which includes a bevy of pop song cliches such as the lyric stutter, “you’ve got my heart b-beating tonight,” sets itself apart with bluntness.

And all this time I thought boy bands sang love jams because they wanted some sweaty, hot, intense hand-holding. I’ve been duped.

But aside from this salacious jam, the rest is familiar subject matter — loneliness, infatuation, a song to let someone know just how over her the singer really is, etc.

The music is just solid.

There are few, if any, bizarre music missteps, but that seems to be because the band plays only within the bounds of convention.

“The Secret to New York” is a perfect example of this. The song takes a formulaic approach — the centerpiece super-catchy repetitive guitar riff that starts before the music swells with drumming and bass playing. Right before the chorus, the musicians hold back for a second and then let loose into a loud, sing-shouted, harmonized chorus.

And that same pattern seems to permeate the album. It makes for tracks that definitely warrant some bopping. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this — the band just hasn’t taken any risks.

Sometimes it works really well, like in “Every Single Dollar,” which is a fast-paced tune about spending every single dollar on flowers, vacations and general extravagance for a girl as long as she’s spending all her time with the singer. OK, well, maybe he’s kind of a sap, but it’s poppy and absolutely perfect for a summer car trip.

Sunshine State of Mind is enjoyable, not groundbreaking or novel, but certainly decent enough to warrant space on a summer mix CD.