Madina Lake

Despite drowning in the excess of a pop-punk scene, the world seemed to have welcomed Madina Lake with open arms when they released their debut album From Them, Through Us, To You in 2007. Their style, hard n' heavy melodic riffs, anthem-like vocals, and the occasional scream separated them from the small dogs of pop-punk, garnering praises for their harder-than-usual personas in performance and lyrics.

But stepping backwards from their overall swagger comes Madina Lake’s sophomore release Attics To Eden. Sadly, the expected consistency from their last album is only met in a few insignificant areas: a continued fictional storyline with a depressing (and dare I say emo) set of lyrics.

I won’t take away Attics’ power, though, as the album opener “Never Take Us Alive” would make any listener pump fists in the air for a bulk of the song at least. On the downside, listeners could mistake the track as the theme song of their favorite childhood action TV cartoon. The album begins to plateau immediately, showcasing nothing more than a few ‘90s synths and a few deep and catchy riffs. “Through The Pain,” a middle-of-the-road song, makes a subtle attempt in promoting self-pity under a poppy ballad, while “Silent Voices Kill” does nothing but fit into the mold of punky alt songs from the past. But behold, a gem is present with “Welcome To Oblivion,” the only song worthy of praise namely for its datedness compared to the rest.

There is no doubt that the heavy riffs fit like a glove with frontman Nathan Leone’s epic vocal range, along with a few decent breakdowns spliced in. The harmonies are also well conducted, thanks to the producer legend David Bendeth (Paramore, Killswitch Engage, Mayday Parade). But the monotony and lack of progression from Madina Lake’s last LP overshadow any real substance in this album. Madina Lake falls short of maintaining their rep as a legit band with Attics, but if you like shamelessly singing to dramatic rock star anthems in your car with the windows rolled down, then this is for you.

While you’re at it, rock the glam metal mullet. I dare you.

—Gabrielle Chua
05.08.09