Every once in a while you find that band that is outside of the realm of music you generally listen to and they just catch your ear. A lot of times this could become a "guilty pleasure," which I believe is a terrible term. There is no reason I should feel guilty for still thinking The All-American Rejects were a damn good band. On that same note, there is no reason why I am going to feel guilty for liking The Cinema. Talent, ability to write incredibly catchy hooks, and an appeal to a crowd different than your usual is no reason to feel guilty.
The Cinema is 4/5 Ohioan and 1/5 Californian. They play a more spaced out version of pop punk than you might be used to. With delay on the guitars and reverb on the vocals, you'll find a band not unlike Hum but with all the pop-punk sensibility of Jimmy Eat World. They have recently released a six song, self-titled, self-released EP to the public and the public is none the wiser. I have a feeling that may change soon.
"Vertical Hold" begins the record on a very positive note. Built up drums and guitar play off each other and continue into a chorus that finds itself as the pinnacle of the song until the breakdown comes. While "Vertical Hold" is a good start, the rest of the record goes on without the feeling of needing to keep up with it, and actually bests it in several cases.
"Strike on Box" has one of the catchiest hooks on the CD. The guitars burst out of the gates at the beginning with constant noodling that will be stuck in your head for days. The chorus rings out as one of the shining moments of the disc. Unfortunately the lead into the second verse seems a little disjointed with the drums making the rest of the band struggle to find a balance. Luckily everything gets back on track and the rest of the song finishes out as it began.
The album isn't all gold. After "A List of Things," which is probably the best song on the CD, they follow up with "Split Both Ways" two tracks later, which I believe is the least memorable part of the record. The pace is slowed down quite a bit and there's just nothing that pulls you in. The last track, "Equasion," which is actually misspelled on the record, makes you forget about that and closes the record on a positive note. There is a hidden track but it is certainly nothing to get excited for.
All in all, The Cinema are a young band that I can see on a bigger label such as Equal Vision or something of the like sometime down the road. If they come play near you, go check it out and you'll like this whole affair that much better.
