Those who are already fans of the band have nothing to worry about and should just buy the record (even if you haven’t heard anything from it). Those of you who aren’t fans but are curious may actually find something you like or at least something you listen to secretly and never tell anyone about.

While most songs still rotate around girls and breaking up, there seems to be a lot less drama filled lyrics dripping from the pop punk music than the band’s debut album had. ‘Rotation’ promotes a more generic radio friendly style which is actually pretty hard to dislike. The music is highly addictive with aggressive hooks around every turn.

“Hollywood” demonstrates the elevated maturity of the band and digs into the history of Hollywood along with the music industry. The song adds a bit of flare with the horns and slightest hint of Latin style during the bridge/breakdown with classical guitar.

Since the release of the band last album, Dave Melillo who had been going it alone as a solo artist previously, has been added to the band as the new bass player. Whether he has anything to do with better results seen on ‘Rotation’ is anyone’s guess but it didn’t hurt the band, that’s for sure.

“Doctor”, “Safe Ride”, and “Practice Makes Perfect” are all positioned to be the big singles off the album, with “Safe Ride” being the best of the three. “Doctor”, although catchy, feels forced and lacks anything special.

“Navigate Me” picks at old habits, and by the time the song finished every time, my eyes had glazed over and rolled back in my head from boredom. On the other hand, “Marriage To Millions” keeps things interesting with The Starting Line/pop punk feel it has.

There’s nothing new, not even anything very exciting about the record but it will be way above the expectation level for most people. I would at least suggest listening to a song or two before bashing it. Bottom line though, if you were excited about Forever The Sickest Kids album or The Maine’s EP earlier this year, then ‘Rotation’ is a gem waiting for you.