Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!
Get Lost, Find Yourself
UNFD/Fearless Records
Release Date: Out Now
Review by Peyton Bernhardt
If you clicked play on Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!’s new album and thought you’d mistaken it for the latest Hit The Lights LP, you wouldn’t be that much in the wrong. ‘Get Lost, Find Yourself’ is as much pop punk as it is metalcore, making it a pioneer of the Easycore renaissance as well as a solid album. Top to bottom, it’s stuffed with heavy elements between its positivity and pop punk, making it an enjoyable, albeit not fresh, listening experience.
Let’s get this over with first: this album is nothing new, innovative or game changing. There are hints of almost every band in Chunk!’s scene on this album, with ‘The Other Line’ calling Major League into memory, and ‘City of Light’ spotlighting Man Overboard, All Time Low-like vocals. In particular, that track has the generic lyrics ‘can’t stop us now/we’re burning this city to the ground’, but voice clip insertions about ‘law enforcement’ implore you to take it seriously.
On the plus side, if you were disillusioned by The Story So Far’s continuation of ex-girlfriend hostility, Chunk! are your next best bet. Lyrical subjects are less trivial and more meaningful, but also, extremely positive. The fast-tempo banger ‘Worst Case Scenario’ is an exhibition of that, standing out with its interactive woah’s but also its emphasis on finding solace in music (‘worst case scenario: turn up your stereo’). Closer ‘Every Moment’ is also a testament to this album’s upbeat, steadfast happiness, with heavy guitars but an optimistic heart.
Speaking of guitars, instrumentally, Chunk! are killing it. Heavy guitars are spliced with metalcore vocals cross-cutted with pop punky cleans to make this album something really, really fun. The fact that they used real instruments adds to the better impression it gives off than previous releases. Of course, the mandatory condition of always having one acoustic track on your new album has also been fulfilled, with titular song ‘Get Lost, Find Yourself’ satisfying the anticipated criteria of soft, cute and par-for-the-course-cheesy.
This album is so good, from its catchy choruses to its cues for headbanging. Sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with not being ground breaking: there’s grace to be found in mastering doing it exactly how it should be done.
