Artist: Man Overboard
Album: Real Talk
Genre: Pop Punk
Label: Run For Cover

The years prior to the dawn of the millennium marked the point where pop punk’s marketable qualities had been skillfully maximized. The second wave bands geared towards a more radio-friendly sound to the speed and attitude of classic punk rock. The initial switch garnered a widespread audience due to extensive airplay but after hitting its peak the genre started to slip almost entirely under the radar again. The Wonder Years and their substantial release, The Upsides proved to be just what the scene needed and declared 2010 to be the year pop punk made a graceful return. Among various other notable contenders New Jersey’s Man Overboard is one band that stands to defend what the genre was founded on and their newest release, Real Talk offers another promise to a bright future within the pop punk community.

Since their inception, Man Overboard have been consistently active touring and releasing a number of EP’s along with an album collected of old and unreleased songs called Before We Met. Their hardwork quickly paid off as their name spread like wildfire and their appearance on many playlists climbed. After hitting the shelves a surprising month early, Real Talk had an initial wave of support that flooded the internet as fans embrace their new sound. This release displays an enhancement to their style without losing their touch and provides a matured step forward in the song-writing department. Title track “Real Talk,” charges the album off revealing what Man Overboard are all about, upbeat tempos, weaving aggression and an unabashed sincerity. Their lyrics are some of the most pure and honest efforts to making a direct connection with its listeners in recent years. Their heartfelt words talk of the agony of lost love, while also declaring genuine feelings on the charming track, “World Favorite.” Almost every song and note is about a girl but their clever youthfulness meshed with a sense of light-heartedness and energy will do nothing but have you entirely consumed.

Their candid tales are delightfully accompanied by their sheer ability to write catchy melodies and sing-along parts, like on lead track, “Fantasy Girl,” while “Bruised Up,” lets the fast paced music take center stage. A huge asset Man Overboard have over their counterparts are their duel vocalists Zac Eiestenstein and Nick Bruzzese. They tastefully weave in and out throughout the album but most flawlessly on the lively tunes, “Darkness, Everybody,” and “She’s Got Her Own Man Now.” The commanding guitars on “Al Sharpton,” lead up to the more polished re-release of, “Montrose,” which is distinctively a highlight track. A rally of chants during the chorus screams, “and my heart caves in when I look at you,” and will leave a bitter feeling in your heart as the affectionate lyrics on “FM Dial Style,” and “I Like You,” warms the grievous feeling. “Septemberism,” offers the last stride of aggression as the intense chant “I hate you, you should’ve picked up the phone tonight,” leads to the acoustic driven, “Sidekick.” The gentle ballad illustrates the bands dynamic ability within in their song writing ability and is the perfect ending to a near perfect album.

Man Overboard takes you back to the glory days when writing lyrics on your notebook while replaying catchy, sweetly sardonic, songs about girls and boys were the only attributes that made high school tolerable. Real Talk strips back to the essential elements that once pushed pop punk into a mainstream success. Each track is as powerful as its predecessor enabling the listener to fall in love with the collection as a whole. Man Overboard does not only defend the liveliness of the pop punk community but also proves to be one of the most exciting acts in the scene today.

Score: 9/10
Review written by: Nerissa Judd

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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