Caffeine
Arouse Me

review by Jon

This 8-track CD was sold at Caffeine's shows supporting New Found Glory in May, presumably a sampler from the band's upcoming album. It's obvious where the band's influences lie, as half the songs sound like MxPx - Tiny, Love Can Wait, Blockage and opening track Live And Let Live, for a start! However, it's when the band's chuck a bit of ska into the mix that they truly excel - On The Road Again is your fairly run-of-the-mill skacore romp with the melodic-yet-punky edge of bands like [spunge]; and Lucky Day, the best tune on the CD, has a kind of seaside charm to it, and is one of those tunes you'd quite happily dance along to in a club. However, Wrong Way To Forget is quite slow and boring, though it perks up during the chorus. The main problem with this is its utter genericness. A couple of tunes are good, but the rest are just mediocre and boring run-of-the-mill punk rock. Not a patch on the band live.

2.5/5