Echo Screen

Upbeat and poppy, the Echo Screen are akin to a day at the fair: bright and sunny with cotton candy permeating the atmosphere and overwhelming your senses. Starting big on the rollercoaster with "This Letter Bomb” and swinging from one attraction to the next on their sugar-high excursion before taking a breather with "October,” this album manages to remain upbeat throughout while tackling the all consuming adolescent issues love, love lost, growing older and the afterlife. Citing influences such as Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World and the All American Rejects, they have yet to reach that level with their sound and tend to sound like the catchy high-school band everyone loved to see play at the local shows, but who couldn’t draw a large crowd without their friends’ support. They do have potential if they use this as a starting point to grow with more diversity and depth as they progress in their musical efforts.