Weezer + Green Day - rhythm = Boylion

As the title of the album implies, Boylion is highly influenced by old-school Nintendo. I'm also guessing the two will join each other on the clearance rack sometime soon. Certainly, some of the keyboard sounds and instrumental breaks on the album were inspired by the Mario Bros. theme music. The band also incorporates a lot of the quick tempo and dynamic changes and switches from clean to heavily distorted guitar similar to Weezer and pop-punk bands like Green Day and Blink 182. These shifts in rhythm and volume turn out to be the highlight of the album as the band substitutes intensity for virtuosity.\nThe vocalists sound like a cross between Billie Joe Armstrong and Billy Corgan, but somehow with less range. The drummer is apparently so excited with his double bass pedal that he forgot his primary job was to keep the beat. This might be the only time I say this, but here is an example of one time a drum machine or even Casio keyboard drum samples would actually improve things. Miraculously, the rest of the band stays in time and leaves the drummer to follow.\nWith a variety of influences, Boylion avoids the label of wannabe but contains a small sense of familiarity. Aside from the lack of rhythmic cohesion and whiny vocals this could at least be fun music if nothing else. Instead the flat and uninteresting writing combined with nagging repetition ruin all chances of this being a decent album to test out your mosh pit. In certain ways it's like grunge without the angst with some bad power pop mixed in.\nEven with punk music there is a certain limit to the amount of sloppiness allowed. The band has a good grasp on the importance of intensity and a good idea of how to approach it through drastic changes in dynamics and effects, but is apparently unaware of the importance of execution. Though most of the band members are, uh, adequate musicians and seem to know what they want sonically, the vocals and drums scream unprofessional. Maybe these guys should spend a little less time playing Nintendo and a little more time with a metronome.\nRating: 3