Strung Out

With Blackhawks Over Los Angeles, Strung Out return to familiar territory. Their combination of melodic pop punk and technical metal has long been a staple of the Fat Wreck Chords catalogue and with this new release, the band aren’t exactly treading new ground. Still, whatever Strung Out do they do ridiculously well and their newest offering is no different; fans can expect the same punishing double-kick, ripping guitar hooks, stop-on-a-dime tightness and melodic vocal delivery they’ve grown to love. "Orchid” demonstrates the band’s lightning-fast palm-muting and quick tempo changes, offering one of the heavier moments on the record, while tracks like "Downtown” show Strung Out at their poppiest, with vocal hooks that will lodge themselves into your memory and not let go. Blackhawks won’t disappoint fans but it most likely won’t bring many new people to the table.