By Josh LaVoie
If you head down to any junior high school in Calgary you will find no shortage of teeny boppers grooving to the latest Sum 41 or New Found Glory release. Power-pop these days is exactly as the name suggests, popular. It is for this reason that I was extremely skeptical when I came across Off By One’s self titled, freshman release. The press materials, cover art, everything about the album led me to believe that this was going to be a poor Good Charlotte clone. However, even with the initial premonitions I had about this disc, I was soon won over.
Simply put this disc contains some of the best pop-punk I’ve ever heard. Every component of the music from powerful vocals to driving guitar and fitting drum riffs gel perfectly to take you on a trip to a sunny day in Southern California. With that being said, I find the darker, more mellow tracks to be slightly lacking. While still slightly above average, these tracks, such as “Deja Vu” are melodically inferior to the rest of the disc, representing only a very small detraction from the album’s overall quality.
Also, contained within the confines of this release is an excellent cover of Ednaswap’s “Torn.” (Originally performed by Natalie Imbruglia in the late ’90s) If there was ever a pop track that deserved an adrenaline boost this would have been right at the front of the line. A clean, tight track that will poke at your nostalgic side; you’ll be singing along right to the very end.
Lyrically, One by One will easily identify with its target audience through topics like talking to the guidance counselor, and the arbitrary nature of love. Off By One’s debut release is a very strong offering, utilizing melodic intricacy, and above-average song writing to differentiate themselves from everyone else on the pop-punk bandwagon.