Album Review: Hey Monday - Beneath It All

In a slight departure from their debut LP, Hey Monday’s ‘Beneath It All’ leans further towards the pop element of pop-punk than ‘Hold On Tight’ ever dared.

The main difference here lies in the production: the guitars have been pushed further back in the mix and an inoffensive sheen has been glossed over the entire EP. As a result, it feels like the tiny dose of punk spirit evident in their debut has been smothered. They may not be the most original band in the world, but their organic edge made Hey Monday, at the least, endearing. The production could be forgiven if the quality of the songs were at least equal to its predecessor, but none of the tracks shine as bright as previous singles ‘How You Love Me Now’ or ‘Homecoming’. Instead, ‘Beneath It All’ is largely made up of placid pop songs.

Whilst it’s certainly a disappointment, ‘BIA’ has a few golden moments. For example, the opening track ‘Wish You Were Here’ combines their knack for a catchy melody with their trademark emotionally-wrought lyrics. As a result, ‘WYWH’ feels like a return to form and is an exciting start to the EP. Whilst the proceeding track ‘Wondergirl’ is a half-decent pop song, the lyrics and overall feel comes across as vapid when compared to the dynamics of the first track. There’s a glimmer of hope in the hook to lead single ‘I Don’t Wanna Dance’, but it’s not enough to save the song from mediocrity. From here on, the remaining three tracks are decent enough, but wholly unspectacular.

With this said, ‘Mr Pushover’ showcases Cassadee’s soaring vocals to spectacular effect, but the song itself sounds like a Taylor Swift B-Side. The music is partly to blame, as the band seem to be there solely to back Cassadee rather than create anything interesting; the riffs and explosive breakdowns from ‘Hold On Tight’ are nowhere to be seen. It’s characterless music from a band with an abundance of the stuff. It’s easily the most frustrating aspect of the EP because the guys sound like Cassadee’s backing-band rather than having an active involvement in putting the Hey Monday-stamp on the songs.

It could have been so much more. Instead, a combination of over-production, sub-par musicianship and a drop in song quality render ‘Beneath It All’ as an average effort rather than the full-throttle follow-up that we were all expecting.

3/5

'Beneth It All' by Hey Monday is available now on Fueled By Ramen.

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Alex Howick