Album Review: Bad News Bears - Prospects
Bad News Bears is the solo project of the Pennsylvania based singer/songwriter, Mike Sacchetti. Recorded and produced in his own basement, Bad News Bears is back, following on from his debut EP ‘(Your Name Here) EP’, with a new six-track album ‘Prospects’.Right from the beginning it’s clear that ’Prospects’ is a great example of a classic pop-punk record. With a melodic piano intro and a strong build-up, ‘Plans’ seamlessly throws you right into the thick of it all.
With a slick transition into the rest of the album, the following tracks, ‘It’s No Secret’ and 'Roots Of All Evil' are a little more upbeat. Away with the piano and in with more of a traditional “band” sound it’s reminiscent of groups like Further Seems Forever, maybe even of early Fall Out Boy and Simple Plan; it’s a tried and tested formula that seems to work.
Sacchetti incorporates a lot of electronic instrumentation into each of his songs, however on these two occasions it feels like the synth and electronic drum breakdowns are really out of place and don’t really resonate as well as the rest of the tracks; unfortunately this is a common occurrence throughout the EP.
Having said that, ‘The End’ is probably the one track that gets that balance just right. An amalgamation of both pop-punk and classic slow-jam influences, the track incorporates loads of interesting and creative elements. The song starts with a slow piano piece and builds up once again into that traditional band sound; however, with the help of those other electronic elements, the track is really lifted and sounds like a real hit for Bad News Bears.
The songwriting has a pretty strong emotional resonance about it, addressing those age-old issues of love, life and everything in-between, they’re accessible and are sure to have a crowd singing and dancing along; all this is matched by Sacchetti’s versatile voice that suits both slow and meaningful and fast-paced and fun.
Ending with ‘Where Is Home’ it’s obvious that Mike Sacchetti is clearly an exceptionally creative and talented individual that can write a great pop song. The groove of the track suits his singing style perfectly and ends the album on a real high.
All of the tracks on the EP are incredibly palatable and have an outstanding production quality, the only problem is I just feel as though the synth and other electronic elements that constantly appear on every track just wears thin and becomes a bit tiresome; it’s all subjective I know, but I think by toning down those elements down a bit ‘Prospects’ would pretty much be faultless.
3.5/5
'Prospects' by Bad News Bears is available now.
Bad News Bears on MySpace, Facebook and Purevolume.
Sandeep Dawett
