Echo Screen doesn’t bring life to emo scene

Echo Screen

Goodbye Old Life

Pop/Punk

Pacific Ridge Records

Rocks Like: All Time Low, The… Echo Screen

Goodbye Old Life

Pop/Punk

Pacific Ridge Records

Rocks Like: All Time Low, The Morning Light, Blink-182

Grade: B-

Fans of All Time Low, The Morning Light and Blink-182 will find something worth listening to in Echo Screen’s latest release, Goodbye Old Life.

This album is the third release for the four Brick, N.J., natives following 2005’s An American Tale EP and 2006’s full-length album, Euphoria.

The band channels its inner Taking Back Sunday with “The Ballad of Jack Shephard (Battle Chorus)” and pays homage to Blink-182 without mimicking with its cover of “First Date.”

The album follows the ever-growing trend of alternative pop/punk bands that institutions like the Vans Warped Tour helped fuel. The problem with this is that, because the music caters to the predictable tastes of emotional scenesters, it won’t surprise you.

Echo Screen sounds too much like the work of its peers, and as a result, the album fails to set itself apart.

Overall, the album proves that the band has definite potential, but the band makes up for its lack of experience with quirky lyrics and original melodies. The CD will pique your interest, but if you’re expecting something fresh and new age, keep looking.