Reviews

There's nothing really bad about the debut album from former Taking Back Sunday guitarist Fred Mascherino's side project. There's not really anything that good about it either. Here we have an album that we've all heard countless times just under a new name.  

Bend to Break is a nice, safe debut for The Color Fred. An album that's guaranteed to sell to fans of Mascherino's previous bands as well as the ever-growing collective of fans of the glittery pop-punk trend that has been dominating (plaguing, if you will) music over the past few years.

The songs are short and catchy. Most of them are about girls, teenage romance, etc. Full of angst, pretty lines, and hooks; it's a simple formula and it accomplishes what it's supposed to. For what it is, the album is certainly more bearable than most of the bands in this genre that get most of the media attention. I think I attribute this more to Mascherino's history in other bands and the fact that he is most certainly a talented musician. On his own though...Mascherino just isn't that interesting.

Here we have an album of someone doing what they know and doing it well. Fred is living in his comfort zone on Bend to Break. There's no pushing of boundaries to be found, so we end up with the same album that has been coming out from similar musicians for years now.

Disposable.

Which is fitting since the album comes in a completely eco-conscious package. So, props to Fred for that little bit. Here's to hoping he gets a little more progressive on the music end of things next time around.