Rich

In 2004, Sum 41 showcased their heavier side with the release of ‘Chuck’; an album that I greatly enjoyed and considered to be the best of their career. ‘Underclass Hero’ however sees the band return to their Pop Punk roots, and was actually a welcome surprise when I listened to it for the first time. I was expecting this album to be ‘Chuck’ the Second; however it is far from being that and is once again a great album. In my eyes Sum 41 have now released four great albums, and will always remain to be one of my favourite Pop Punk bands. ‘Underclass Hero’ is fifteen tracks strong, giving us another blast of Sum 41 excellence that we have become accustom to over the years.

In ‘Underclass Hero’ the band here show off their fine talent for penning a near on perfect Pop Punk track. It’s almost as if they’ve gone back 6 years to the period in which they wrote ‘All Killer, No Filler’, only with the knowledge and experience that they gained from the proceeding years. The music definitely has a heavier edge than their first full length, however in many respects it is that album which ‘Underclass Hero’ is most comparable to. From the moment opening track ‘Underclass Hero’ kicks off, we know that this will be a return to the Pop Punk sound of old for the band, and when the guitar riff and chorus come through sounding extremely reminiscent of ‘Fat Lip’ we start feeling right at home. From here, the band launch into ‘Walking Disaster’, another instant classic of a Pop Punk track. The great thing about Sum 41’s music has always been its catchiness – once you’ve heard a Sum 41 track once you sure as hell won’t be forgetting it in a hurry, making them stand tall above the sea of other Pop Punk bands out there churning out disposable dullness.

The band takes on whole different angles in this latest album and move into unchartered territory; ‘Dear Father’ for example is an emotional message to an absent and unknown father, written in the form of a letter. Understandably the approach here is a lot softer than with the preceding tracks, this one therefore coming across extremely well with Deryck Whibley’s softly spoken vocals at the forefront. It is interesting to see the band in this light as it is not something that I ever expected of them yet they come across so strongly in this manner.

The fifth track of ‘Underclass Hero’ provides the album with an interesting twist as the band blast through ‘Count Your Last Blessings’ showing themselves once again in the heavier light they became known for with ‘Chuck’. It breaks the Pop Punk up nicely and shows that although the band have now moved on from the music that they were producing in their last album, it has not been forgotten. With a cutting drum backbeat, powerful vocals, and excellent guitar styling throughout – Sum 41 come out of this one looking better than ever. I can definitely see ‘Count Your Last Blessings’ being released as a single, as while the music is heavy it still retains the inevitable catchiness that this band are so easily able to put across.

‘Pull The Curtain’ has a powerhouse of an introduction, and is an extremely interesting track in the way that it develops. After the initial power of this one, it becomes vocally one of the softest tracks on the album all the while retaining great strength in the guitars and a slick drum patter. Halfway through the track Whibley’s vocals become reminiscent of those of Gerard Way and although it works well it doesn’t really make sense to me why the band chose to do this. Perhaps it was a record label marketing move, recognising the success of My Chemical Romance and trying to recreate this in part with Sum 41.

The band end the album on a high with the relentless ‘No Apologies’; a politically charged track informing ‘the underdog nation’ never to give up. This is a strong way to have ended ‘Underclass Hero’ and definitely does a great album justice in my opinion. Sum 41 definitely showcase their political awareness throughout the album, and do so without churning out a diabolically atrocious bore of an album a la ‘American Idiot’.

There is never a dull moment with this album, and given the departure of Dave ‘Brownsound’ Baksh last year, it could have been a completely different story. Baksh was always considered to be the main songwriter for the band, however ‘Underclass Hero’ is testament to the fact that Baksh was not the be all and end all of this band, and although his presence will be sorely missed – the music of Sum 41 shall not suffer. Every track here with its own individual merits; Sum 41 are still very much a band in their prime and as far I’m concerned there are still plenty more albums to come from the band. ‘Underclass Hero’ should see the band once more claim an RIAA Gold, or perhaps even rekindle the success of breakthrough album ‘All Killer, No Filler’ by going Platinum. It may take another 3 years in the making, but mark my words; Sum 41 will be back.

Label: Mercury
Release Date: 23rd July 2007

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