Plus-44
When Your Heart Stops Beating

Rating: 3/5
Tracks to download: “When Your Heart Stops Beating,” “155,” “Cliff Diving”
For fans of: Blink-182

Plus-44’s new album, “When Your Heart Stops Beating,” is a pleasant, pop-punk album that is reminiscent of the listless, catchy songs of Blink-182. This is not surprising, since both Plus-44’s bassist (Mark Hoppus) and drummer (Travis Barker) are former members of Blink-182. None of the songs is particularly deep or innovative, but Plus-44’s new album is enjoyable, even though it never completely enthralls the listener.

“When Your Heart Stops Beating” begins with “Lycanthrope,” a catchy up-tempo song about the perils of adolescent romance. Even though Plus-44 does not bring a unique perspective to this topic, the song is an easy listen.

“Baby, Come On” is a hilarious take on alcohol and teenage relationships. The lyrics, for better or worse, are reminiscent of many collegiate romantic encounters, “She’s a pretty girl/She’s always falling down/And I think I just fell in love with her/But she won’t ever remember.”

The single, “When Your Heart Stops Beating,” is an undeniably catchy song about a dedicated romance where the singer will, “Be there when your heart stops beating/When your last breath’s taken away.” The song “Cliff Diving” is a fun number about the sensibilities and carefree times of summer love. “155″ is propelled by a heavy synthesizer in the forefront and a memorable chorus.

Plus-44 is undeniably at its best with upbeat, pop-punk songs. But not all of their slower tunes are disasters. “Make You Smile” is a sweet song about two lovers who use different methods to achieve a common goal.

The band’s other attempts at writing ballads are not as successful. “Little Death” is listless and uninspired, a song that feels twice as long as it actually is. “Weatherman” and “No It Isn’t” continue the pattern of mediocrity.

Unfortunately, the worst ballad on the album is the last number, “Chapter XIII.” Instead of closing the album with a bang, “Chapter XIII” is, at best, a whimper. The song does not have a memorable chorus and, at over five minutes long, begins to feel very drawn-out.

Even though Plus-44 could take some lessons from Nick Drake on how to write a meaningful and engaging ballad, their new album is actually quite likeable. Many of the songs have memorable choruses and are very fun to listen to. But its weaker moments prevent “When Your Heart Stops Beating” from being a truly superb album.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Cadenza. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.