Cute Is What We Aim For is a US four-piece whose members are barely out of high school, playing power-pop songs about high school dramas which will mostly appeal to high school students.

Thereā€™s a lot of internet hype about the band ā€“ Sweat The Battle Before The Battle Sweats You admits, ā€?We have a whole lot to proveā€¯ ā€“ but while they live up to it on a superficial level, the album lacks depth. Frontman Shaant Hacikyanā€™s lyrics like ā€?Medically speaking youā€™re adorableā€¯ arenā€™t as clever as they suggest they are, and while his androgynous vocals and odd inflections are intriguing at first, they gradually get more irritating.

Highlights Thereā€™s A Class For This and The Curse Of Curves showcase a knack for a hook and are very memorable, but The Fourth Drink Instinct (a slow look at underage drinking and one night stands) ultimately promises much more emotional impact than it delivers, and in the end the same accusation can be levelled at the whole album. But Iā€™m not really in the bandā€™s target market or much concerned with teenage dramas and social cliques any more. So kids, go ahead and listen to The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch ā€“ after all, I canā€™t deny that songs like Sweet Talk 101 are infectious, upbeat and danceable. Just donā€™t try to tell me that Shaant is ā€?sooo smart and, like, deepā€¯, alright? Deal.

Owen Heitmann

Itā€™s hard to know which piece of information to lead with in a discussion of Blackpool Lightsā€™ debut album: the fact that the four-piece is the new outfit for The Get Up Kidsā€™ guitarist and sometimes vocalist Jim Suptic, or the knowledge that drummer Billy Brimblecom had to rush the recording of his parts due to cancer that eventually forced amputation of his left leg below the knee (he now drums with a state-of-the-art prosthetic).

Iā€™m gonna opt for the one that, while not as dramatic, has more impact on the actual music ā€“ although Blackpool Lights are admittedly more closely aligned with indie rock than The Get Up Kidsā€™ influential era-defining late-90s emo. Less dogmatic fans of the ā€™Kids (like those who stuck with the band when they broadened their musical horizons on their final two albums) will no doubt still find much to enjoy here, but this group is definitely aiming for a different demographic. To put it another way, Blackpool Lights is to The Get Up Kids as Jets To Brazil is to Jawbreaker.

The album is brightly uplifting, with undercurrents of melancholy, a winning combination exemplified by the prime cut and first single Blue Skies. The whole affair bursts with hook-filled tracks like the roadtrip anthem Empty Tank, peaking with the albumā€™s centrepiece, the winning 1-2 punch formed by the perceptive rocker Itā€™s Never About What Itā€™s About and the catchy The Truth About Love (ā€?itā€™s great when youā€™re in itā€¯).

Itā€™s a straightforward record (some variation is thrown in with the anguished halftime comedown of Crash Sounds and less energetic Maybe Just Maybe) but its uncontrived, guileless nature is central to its melodic appeal. No disaster here.

Owen Heitmann