"Punk Goes… Number Eight"

Various - Punk Goes Pop 2

Record Label: Fearless Records
Release Date: March 10, 2009
Track List:
1. Alesana- "What Goes Around..." by Justin Timberlake
2. Silverstein- "Apologize" by One Republic
3. August Burns Red- "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears
4. Mayday Parade- "When I Grow Up" by Pussycat Dolls
5. A Day to Remember- "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray
6. Escape the Fate- "Smooth" by Santana feat. Rob Thomas
7. There For Tomorrow- "Ice Box" by Omarion
8. Chiodos- "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger
9. Bayside- "Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston
10. Breathe Carolina- "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus
11. The Cab- "Disturbia" by Rihanna
12. A Static Lullaby- "Toxic" by Britney Spears
13. Four Year Strong- "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles
14. Attack Attack!- "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry

Recently released album "Punk Goes Pop Volume 2" is the 8th "Punk Goes" album. The "Punk Goes" compilation series are albums full of your favourite pop-rock, screamo and punk bands covering usually unlikely genres.

Each song deserves credit for being able to "genre-jump" as I will now refer to it as, and with that being said each deserves a critique of it's own, rather than be lumped together and reviewed as an album.

I have conducted an extensive review of each track, as well as the album as a whole. I am, and always have been a fan of the "Punk Goes" compilations, and once you hear the covers on this album, you will understand why.

If you have never heard one of these compilations, I highly suggest you do so, as each and every album has at least one song you will find enjoyable.

The album concept as a whole, brings together two worlds; the genre of popular music, and for the most part, mainstream screamo, rock, and pop-punk bands. Pop is a very generic term, and is used loosely, as all of the original songs being covered on this album vary in sub-genres. From Britney Spears to Santanna, the listening audience widens.

I will start with the first track on the album; Alesana's cover of "What Goes Around..." originally by Justin Timberlake, and continue in chronological order. You either love or hate Alesana. I, for one used to hate Alesana, but now (already going against my love or hate, nothing in between theory), don't love nor hate them, but find a middle ground. Timberlakes' ability to sing high pitched is met with the ability of Alesana's lead singer to do so as well. This particular song is one of Alesana's that I actually enjoy.

Where do I start with this one? I used to love Silverstein, but am gradually growing out of that love I once felt. This cover, however gives me hope. Silverstein cover One Republic's "Apologize" in a way that can be described as nothing less than perfect. By the intro riff alone, it was easily recognizable as Silverstein, who I didn't realize had a very distinct sound until this song. This is most definitely one of my favourite tracks on the album.

The third track on the album is August Burns Red's cover of Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time". Another band I like! This album just gets better by the track. Be that as it may, I'm not a big fan of the dirty scream, for this cover at least. ABR's cover of Britney Spears' hit song just sounds plain and amateur to me. With that being said, a positive note on this song is that the breakdowns are prime, but that's nothing new or unexpected for ABR.

The Pussycat Dolls' chart-topper "When I Grow Up" is covered on this album by one of my personal favourites, Mayday Parade. As I just stated, Mayday Parade is one of my favourite bands right now, so I have a slightly biased opinion (again), seeing as I love Mayday Parade. All biases aside, this is an incredible cover. Mayday Parade have a tendency of having very whiny vocals, but choose not to include in this song, which was a good choice in my eyes. I have no complaints about this song. If you thought "When I Grow Up" by PCD couldn't get any better, think again.

Now for the fifth song on the album; A Day to Remember- "Over My Head (Cable Car)", originally by The Fray. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! I love ADTR and "Over My Head". I have never been a big Fray fan, but thoroughly enjoy this particular song of theirs, and love the cover even more. I'm a huge breakdown fan, as you may have caught onto by now, and the breakdown in this song is amazing. A Day To Remember's ability to sing and scream pretty songs, and still have them turn out amazing contributes to my adoration for them.

First of all, I am stunned that Santana could ever be transcribed into an Escape the Fate-esque song. That being said, I am not a fan of Escape The Fate's cover of "Smooth" by Santana, as it sounds nothing like Escape the Fate, but rather a random Santana fan singing karaoke at a local bar. In spite of my overall animosity of the cover, the guitar solo is impressive, but that's about all that appeals to me on this track.

I have never heard of There For Tomorrow prior to this "Punk Goes" album, nor do I recall ever having heard "Ice Box" by Omarion. Therefore, I didn't have the criteria to be allow myself high expectations for track seven of the album; There For Tomorrow- Ice Box. The vocals on this track are smooth, and I can see myself finding a liking in this band in the future, however, the track as a whole doesn't do much for me. Overall, I can't judge this song as a cover, as I've never heard the original nor have I heard the band covering it prior to this, but it is a half-decent song.

Who hasn't heard and loved "Flagpole Sitta" at one point in their life? I sure have and did. When I heard this song, I remembered it instantly, and was ecstatic at the fact that Craig Owens and the boys covered it. Track nine is a astounding cover done by Chiodos of Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta". I am a huge fan of Owens' voice, as well as Chiodos' instrumental talent. There's not much more I can say aside from wow.

I have never been huge on Bayside or Sean Kingston, so I wasn't big on listening to Bayside's cover of "Beautiful Girls". Furthermore, this song sounds like a white boy in his garage playing random chords on his electric guitar, and singing Sean Kingston. I think that part of my dislike for this song comes from the number of times I heard the original on the radio, Mtv, Much Music, and every other media outlet out there. There's nothing special about this song, nor does it give any taste of Bayside, like the other covers do their bands.

I was so excited when I found out that Breathe Carolina was covering Miley Cyrus' "See You Again". I had big expectations for this cover, all of which were met upon first, second, and seventieth listen. This is a high-energy song in in original state, and Breathe Carolina take it to the next level with power-pop and techno beats. The next step is a Breathe Carolina and Miley Cyrus tour; I would be front row, for sure. What's better than breakdowns? Power-pop breakdowns. Enough said.

I was reluctant to listen to this song, because like "Beautiful Girls", I have heard it far too many times. I'm so glad that I gave it a chance. The Cab's cover of "Disturbia" by Rihanna is breath-taking, and that's an understatement. This has got to be one of the best covers in the history of "Punk Goes" albums, let alone Punk Goes Pop 2. This a solid cover, and there's not much more I can say than that. The Cab beats Rihanna any day, no pun intended, actually, maybe a little bit of a pun intended.

I heard a screamo cover of "Toxic" a few years back, and was blown away. This being said, I had high expectations for this cover, knowing that it would either blow Gorge De Coupe De Cassanova's cover out of the water, or be monumentally worse. A Static Lullaby covers Britney Spears' "Toxic" on the third last track of the album. First of all, major props to Brit for appearing twice on this album, she must have done something right between her haircut and careless mothering. Anyways, back to the song. I found this cover very similar to Gorge De Coupe De Cassanova's, and having liked that cover, I found myself enjoying this one as well. When it comes down to it, it's nothing special, but an alright song, nevertheless.

This cover is very "punk-rocky", but brings back memories of my childhood. When I read "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles, I didn't think I knew this song, but I definitely do. Raspy voices aside, the Bareilles' lyrics make up for any doubts I have about Four Year Strong's cover of this song. The cover, however does not appeal to me at all. More garage band rock, anyone?

This is the first song I heard from Punk Goes Pop 2, and has to be my favourite song of the album. Here I go again, going on about the breakdowns, this cover has the best breakdown, hands down, of the whole album. I love power-pop and screamo, and Attack Attack! brings both together for this amazing cover of Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl". If you aren't compelled to listen to any other song on this album, please listen to this track at least.

The "Punk Goes" compilations are brilliant, and are an amazing contribution to the music scene. Punk Goes Pop 2 is now available to buy in stores, and on Itunes. I highly suggest you give it a listen.