Kerrang!’s Jennyfer J Walker on Broadside’s Paradise
Finding a new pop-punk band who don’t sound generic, and like every band that’s come before them is quite the feat. But the world has it in Broadside, who grew up in Virginia, and now reside in LA. Still along the lines of bands like hysteria-inducing Aussies 5 Seconds Of Summer and underrated Albany quintet State Champs, the four-piece put enough of a spin on the genre to set themselves apart, and they do so excellently on second album Paradise.
As sun-soaked as the name suggests (and, yes, there are palm trees on the cover), this is an 11-song set that preaches reaching your goals and dreams, and creating your own happiness. While that might sound cheesier than Pizza Hut’s all-you-can-eat lunchtime buffet, it’s done in a cool enough way (plenty of uplifting gang chants) for it not to matter. Instead, their tunes leave you motivated, and ever so slightly infected with frontman Ollie Baxxter’s obvious zest for life.
The title-track is the zestiest of them all, offering a superb overview of the album, while lead single Hidden Colors is everything you could want from a pop-punk song. Closer I Love You, I Love You It’s Disgusting even features a ukulele, if you’re into that sort of thing and/or a Twenty One Pilots fan…
In Paradise, Broadside have made a valuable addition to their genre’s collective back catalogue, as opposed to clogging it up, like that pizza might an artery. Check ’em out!
