Dynamite Boy – Self/Titled / 2004 Fearless / 12 Tracks / http://www.dynamiteboy.com / http://www.fearlessrecords.com / Reviewed 16 July 2004

Doing the equivalent to a bum rush with the opening track, “Suspended Animation”, Dynamite Boy play a style of pop-punk that fits nicely between the Hot Topic-approved Story of the Year and Canadian import Simple Plan. Calling together the spirit of Weezer for “Man of the Year”, Dynamite Boy is innocuous, perfect music for driving around. With the critical ear for success, Dynamite Boy is always there with the right hook or strong and smooth set of vocals. Being able to mesh the most successful pieces from a smorgasbord of genres dating back to the hair metal of the eighties, any casual listener can find one or two points to Dynamite Boy that will them further into the bands aura, probably compelling them to pick up a copy of this self-titled album. By far, where the album is a close grouping of shots by the band, “Harmonic” is the standout track on the disc. Wavering between the highest register reached in the average Cinderella song, and the emotional Slash-like guitar bridge, “Harmonic” is a track that reaches beyond the demonstratable ability of the band.

Overall, this self-titled effort by Dynamite Boy really loses steam quickly, and where each of the tracks has a nice poppy sound and high amount of energy, there is really nothing to be found on the disc that allows for the quick identification of tracks. The final track, “Long Since Forgotten” is a shining example of this inability to discern between songs, where there is a guest vocalist, eir’s vocals are not different enough to really do anything but meld into each other. Perhaps if the band was able to go and coalesce their works (12 tracks, this go around) into three or four singles, as is what can be found on the disc, Dynamite Boy would be much of a household name. Right now, I would have to say the greatest source of their sales would have to be individuals confusing them for the much greater Dynamite Kid. While there aren’t many solid bands playing pop-punk music nowadays, this album should still be looked over for the last Wakefield, Story of the Year, or even Yellowcard albums. The band is incredibly proficient, but aren’t able to bring across themselves in their music, just a smoothed out, dare I say bland style of mall-punk than can be heard blaring out of any Hollister or Abercrombie store.

Top Tracks: Suspended Animation, Man of the Year

Rating: 5.0/10