The Inside Pulse:
Way back in 2000, a song hit the airwaves that made skater kids bob their heads for the summer. OPM’s “Heaven Is A Halfpipe” blew up a lot larger than anyone expected and just as fast, they fell off the face of the planet. They switched labels (jumping from Atlantic Records to Suburban Noize Records), released a largely forgotten album (Forthemasses in 2004) and not a peep has been heard from them. On July 18th of this year, they released their third opus, California Poppy. Are they able to reclaim the magic from 2000? Or will they continue their descent into anonymity?
Positives:
If you’re in the mood for a very easy going listen, this is the album for you. The melodies are very good and accomplish exactly what they want: they want to take you on a trip and it works. Vocally this album is strong, as John Edney’s voice blends perfectly with the music.
Negatives:
Bands need to stop feeding off the corpse of Sublime. The influence is absolutely there and at times borders on absolute plagiarism. We get that Sublime is a major influence, but someone needs to come along and progress the sound as opposed to re-hashing it. OPM re-hashes it. Blending in a harder influence or even some prog-rock would do wonders.
Cross-breed:
Sublime 2006.
Reason to buy:
Buy some weed, spark the joint, and throw this album on. Just be sure you’re doing something else or you may end up falling asleep.
