For all its well-intentioned energy ‘Its In The Streets’ probably didn’t benefit from being released towards the end of 2014, at a time when the thoughts of many were turning towards ‘Best of the Year’ lists. However with Longineu Parsons and Ben Harper, both formerly of Yellowcard, in the ranks alongside the less familiar but equally talented Chris Castillo and Steven Neufeld, This Legend certainly have the pedigree to make a sizeable impact in the ever-crowded pop-punk scene.
‘Lyrics With My Pen’ is a great start and leaves you in no doubt that straightforward three-minute blasts of upbeat punk are going to be the order of the day. It doesn’t push any musical boundaries but that is part of its charm; the drumming is fast, the guitars suitably melodic and the vocal harmonies are exactly what you would expect. This Legend clearly had a lot of fun making this album and it shows, ‘Feeling Like I Should’ keeps the buoyant mood going and its chorus is perfect for a festival sing-along.
By the end of the first few songs it becomes clear that in-depth lyrics aren’t a major concern for This Legend and that is both a positive and a negative. On the one hand it harks back to a more simplistic time for pop-punk when bands were primarily concerned with nothing more than writing catchy songs that put a smile on your face and made you want to stagedive or start a circle pit in the way that ‘Get Fast’ brilliantly does.
Unfortunately, the emphasis on rhyming couplets take away any deeper meaning that This Legend were hoping to achieve, with ‘Holiday From Crazy’ suffering the most from the simplistic writing. Also, a few tracks struggle against the limitations of the song structures that This Legend tend to favour, for example, ‘My City’ may be fast, but take away the pace and there’s an average pop-punk song taking the familiar route of praising the city the singer is from, in this case LA.
For the most part, ‘It’s In The Streets’ is a finely polished collection of enjoyable and well written pop-punk songs of which ‘Life Pushes Hard’ is arguably the highlight. Its an upbeat anthem with a big chorus and it’s the perfect example of what This Legend are capable of when they find the right balance with their songwriting. ‘It’s In The Streets’ may suffer from a sense of fatigue in places but there’s always a sense of eagerness and energy to help pick up the pace again.The result is an assured début that hints at an exciting future that may well help This Legend get the attention that they deserve.
CHRIS HILSON