Hailing from my hometown of Toronto, ON, alternative rock outfit Streets To Ourselves just dropped The Truth Between Us, their second full-length album. Put together with the help of Sam Guiana and Mike Kalajian, who have both worked with some big names in the scene, the band is taking themselves more seriously than ever. As a pop-punk apologist who loves experiencing albums in full, I was stoked to dig in and see what the Toronto boys have cooked up.
The appropriately named Introduction launches the album calmly with a Midwest emo twist before showing off its bombastic production. Massive drum hits and wringing guitar chords shook my speakers and command the listener’s attention. It’s a good instrumental opener and leaves the door open for a variety of alternative subgenres that the subsequent 10 songs could potentially tackle.
Despite this, the band rarely strays from the 2000s pop-punk lane on this project. The following track, Birds & Bees, is nostalgic, and its jump-along intro hooks the listener immediately. I wish I could say the same for the lyrics once the verses roll through, however. The repeated chorus of “She makes my knees weak // She’s so far out of my league” could have been charmingly childish to the high school sophomore version of me who found solace in blink-182 lyrics, but my 28-year-old brain isn’t finding anything lyrically substantive on this track or on most of The Truth Between Us’ eleven tracks, for that matter.
Thankfully, on the instrumental side, there’s a lot of sonic variety. The following track, Crash, is mosh-worthy with a grittier edge that’s reminiscent of Sum 41’s heavier tunes. The subtle time signature changes in this song, as well as in Slip and I’m Yours further down the tracklist, provide some much-needed relief from the formulaic pop-punk traps that are so easy to fall into.
Sad Realization is an ode to friendship and feels straight out of TOYPAJ-era blink. Despite frontman Daniel Peachy’s vocals begging to break the pitch correction barrier, the vocal processing perfectly toes the line between Mark Hoppus’ and Tom DeLonge’s vocal timbres. It’s very nostalgic, though the clunky vocal phrasing and compromised lyricism to force its rhymes won’t have me come back to this over, say, Reckless Abandon.
Other highlights further down the tracklist include I Always Knew and Free, the latter of which is far and away the best lyrical contribution to the project. A political commentary and protest song, Peachy’s frustration on this is palpable and is the emotional high point of the album to me. “Freedom for those dumb enough to fight for what’s already been won” is such a banger line.
Streets To Ourselves put together an incredibly consistent record here without any particular lowlights. Even the songs I haven’t mentioned are perfectly serviceable for the genre. It’s not particularly a record I see myself coming back to, but if you like your pop-punk to be familiar, sonically polished, and lyrically cheesy, all while wearing its 2000s influences on its sleeve, give The Truth Between Us a spin.
Review – Mathieu Perrier
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