It's hard to say which half of Reggie and The Full Effect's new album "41" (Pure Noise) is the most impressive.
Obviously, Reggie (aka James Dewees, keyboardist for the influential indie-rockers The Get Up Kids) delivers first-class emo, with help from My Chemical Romance's guitarist Ray Toro and drummer Jarrod Alexander. The thunderous "And Next With Feeling" especially sounds like it fell from MCR's "The Black Parade," while "Alone Again" features dueling vocals like the heyday of Taking Back Sunday and Brand New.
However, the other side of "41" is chock full of pleasant surprises. There's the fizzy synth pop of "Heartbreak" where Dewees sounds like he's going to bust into Erasure's "Chains of Love" at any moment. There's also the dizzy Giorgio Moroder-ish electro of "Channing Tatum Space Rollerblading Montage Music," as well as "Trap(ing) Music" from a fictitious Finnish industrial band. And when Dewees tackles epic love ballads in "New Years Day" and the closer "Off Delaware," it becomes clear that he has taken more inspiration from Adele _ hello! _ than the cover photo and album title.
