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Arthur Enders, aka Ace Enders, and his band begin this album with an almost paltry Angels & Airwaves “woes is me” anthem-like introduction on “Reintroduction” before finally opening the throttle and delivering some strong emo-punk tracks. “Take The Money and Run” is a good attempt at this, with nice melodies but with riffs and chops that a band like Taking Back Sunday could probably hone better. However, the group then switch gears with the acoustic “New Guitar”, a song that won’t come close to Plain White T’s “Delilah” but isn’t entirely disposable either despite being a hair over a minute. Enders however pulls the whiny angst cord one too many times on “The Only Thing I Have (The Sign)” and the formulaic title track, the latter sure to tug the heartstrings of 16-year-old girls everywhere. Sweet pop nuggets like “Reaction” atone for those mistakes as does the radio-friendly and summery “SOS”. The biggest surprise, yet for all the wrong reasons, has to be the country-tinged Bryan Adams-ish arena rock of “Where Do We Go From Here” that is rather aimless. The same can be said for the Fray-like melancholic piano fodder oozing from “Leader”.

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Originally from Cape Breton, MacNeil is currently writing for the Toronto Sun as well as other publications, including All Music Guide, Billboard.com, NME.com, Country Standard Time, Skope Magazine, Chart Magazine, Glide, Ft. Myers Magazine and Celtic Heritage. A graduate of the University of King's College, MacNeil currently resides in Toronto. He has interviewed hundreds of acts ranging from Metallica and AC/DC to Daniel Lanois and Smokey Robinson. MacNeil (modestly referred to as King J to friends), a diehard Philadelphia Flyers fan, has seen the Rolling Stones in a club setting, thereby knowing he will rest in peace at some point down the road. Oh, and he writes for PopMatters.com.


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