Please join us in welcoming contributor Jordan Baker to the team. This is his first review.

Looking at Tonight Alive’s sophomore album, The Other Side, there’s nothing particularly interesting about it. Oh, you say they’re a pop punk band? Yea, the song titles gave that away. They’ve got a female vocalist? How cute. If one were to judge this book by its cover, they wouldn’t be wrong. I couldn’t honestly say that this album is bringing anything new to the table, but at the same time, The Other Side is truly amazing. With this album, Tonight Alive has managed to confirm nearly every pop punk stereotype, reuse the same song structure throughout the whole album, and completely pull it off. So many bands have tried to execute this same formula, and Tonight Alive finally nailed it.

Not much has changed since the band’s debut album, What Are You So Scared Of?, though they have made themselves much more finely tuned as a group than before. This album properly showcases the entire band’s talent; there are memorable guitar riffs and leads all over the album, the drums always stay busy, the bassist even has his time to shine here and there. That’s not something that happens in pop-punk. Not to say that Tonight Alive has reinvented the genre or anything, but they’ve certainly lived up to their fullest potential with as a pop-punk band.

One thing that separates this album somewhat is vocalist Jenna McDougall because her voice fits this style of music incredibly. It’s soothing, but at the same time energetic and emotional without being melodramatic…not to mention she’s pretty talented as a singer as well. She must have decided to show what her voice can really do this time around because it’s evident on songs like Lonely Girl or The Other Side that she’s got some serious singing chops. Her vocals are delivered with more conviction than ever on this album, which makes the catchy, sing-a-long, anthem-like choruses stand out even more. That’s another thing that Tonight Alive have with this album over their competitors; as well as being a pleasant and fun listen, it’s energetic and actually memorable as well.

If I’ve ever seen a band with a formula for success, it’s Tonight Alive. They’ve improved upon just about everything they could improve on with The Other Side. Their image as a fun Australian band with a female vocalist is sure to attract some attention by itself, but that’s further enhanced by just how sincere the music is. Totally radio-friendly, accessible to anyone, and it’s not a chore to listen to. Now that’s been a rare combination in recent times. If they continue down this path, Tonight Alive are sure to see some well-deserved mainstream success. Whether that’s good for the band’s future music or not is yet to be seen, but this record will remain proof that they found a way to perfect their craft, and executed it. That’s something that deserves both attention and respect, and no one can deny them that thanks to The Other Side.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrkfkwzChoM&h=297&w=450]

Score: 4/5

Tonight Alive: iTunes | Official