The Artist Life

The Artist Life's first full-length has been a long time in the making. The Toronto, ON pop punkers self-released the Living EP in 2007 and quickly followed it with another EP, Let's Start a Riot, after signing with Underground Operations. Three years and a new rhythm section later, the band have finally submitted a full slate of songs for release. Impossible isn't too far removed from the band's previous work. The bulk of the songs are melodic pop punk numbers that paint the band as Canada's answer to the Loved Ones. While some of the lyrics cover stereotypical pop punk relationship ground, the band also touch upon other subjects, most notably class issues. Heading into the release of Impossible, the Artist Life could have gone for the mature pop punk sound or reverted to a safer sound akin to Stereos. It's nice to see they chose the former while leaving the door open for mainstream success.