As the sun retreats and Autumn takes over, colourful Canadian pop-punks Seaway are giving listeners a Vacation, in the form of their third full length record. Twelve upbeat tracks coalesce into a sun soaked ode to days gone by. The result is a ‘tour de pop-punk’ of a release, where the band set out to tread the well-worn path laid out before them.
To say this four-piece wear influences on their sleeve is an understatement, instead they go into the album sleeveless, their influences tattooed proudly across their arms. A mere five tracks in it feels like we’ve had a greatest hits of the scene’s elder statesmen, particularly the likes of All Time Low, New Found Glory and Weezer. The latter is most evident on Something Wonderful where lyrics like “We are weird and painful, just like Ross and Rachel” echo Rivers Cuomo’s own geeky wordplay. There have certainly been worse homages to the nineties but it becomes readily apparent that this is a band yet to cement their own musical identity.
If you already sit firmly in camp Seaway then there is no doubt you’ll enjoy going on this nostalgic trip with them, you may even be better placed to discern how they’ve evolved over their six-year career. They may have come a long way since 2013’s debut, but a lack of the memorable choruses that define the genre means this record is unlikely to entice new members into the camp.
Vacation is the epitome of bubble gum, it provides a nostalgic dose of pop-punk to chew on for a length of time but quickly loses its flavour and by the time you move on to some real sustenance, you’ll forget about it altogether.