Cinder Road, formerly known as Plunge releases their next (in fact their third) album. Their previous album, “Hometown Heroes” was a very strong powerpop-rock album with good hooks and catchy tunes. The band continues to show that talent on “Superhuman”.
I’m So Sorry
The catchy opener I’m So Sorry kicks off the album in a way that represents what this band is about. The groovy, alternative powerpop shows energy and clever songwriting. The infectious chorus is pure gold and the song is proof that Cinder Road is a commercially very attractive band.
Bad Excuse
The album continues with Bad Excuse which sounds like a catchy Bon Jovi-influenced powerpop song with powerful vocals and clever hooks. Cinder Road continues to lay down songs that you can’t get out of your head.
Back Home To You
The ultimate radio single candidate Back Home To You is a song that dates back from the Plunge-era. Already one of my favorites back then, this powerballad still impresses me. The rootsy guitar and comforting melody work really well for this song and the empathy in the vocals adds even more to this excellent song.
Should’ve Known Better
The uptempo, alternative rocker Should’ve Known Better has a very familiar sound, which makes it easy to connect to it. It might be reinventing the wheel, but if it’s a good wheel, I don’t see a problem with that. And this song’s a pretty damn fine wheel if you ask me.
Get In Get Out
Get In Get Out, a post-grunge rocker, maybe a few Foo Fighters or Smalltown Sleeper similarities here and there and I can think of a few more bands to compare this song too, but that’s kind of beside the point as Cinder Road executes the song with power and class and makes it their own.
Learning To Love
The ballad Learning To Love is one of the weaker songs on the album. It just doesn’t really sound convincing, the build-up is standard and it’s a ballad like one of the other 2 million we hear on the radio everyday. They should’ve poured a little more into this one, in my opinion.
Feels So Good
I can’t help but compare this with other bands in the genre like July For Kings, Smalltown Sleeper and the likes. Maybe just a little smoother, more polished. And that’s basically what I miss in this song. It’s too smooth, while it could be great were it a little more rough ’round the edges. It would’ve been purer and more energetic. Nonetheless it’s a fairly good song.
SuperHuman
The title track is an interesting one that definitely grew on me as time went by. The gritty, alternative song that reminds me of frontman Ruocco’s former band SR-71 is very catchy and is a good song to rock out to. The Bryan Adams influenced chorus temporizes and creates a contrast with the verses. It’s not the best song on the album, but it definitely isn’t one of the lesser songs either.
One
One is a song that doesn’t do much to me. It feels a little out of place. While the chorus is a nice sing-along, the rest of the song is just average. The lyrics nor the vocals are really all that impressive and the guitar work is quite standard. Would’ve been a nice bonus song, but that’s pretty much the place where I would put it.
Drift Away
Cinder Road raises the bar and meets up to the challenge. With Drift Away they come back strong and show that they are ready to continue their streak of strong catchy powerpop. Drift Away is a Bryan Adams-like pop/rock song with strong guitar work and infectious vocals. Lyrically this also is one of the band’s better songs.
Don’t Be Scared
The album ends with what probably is its strongest song. Don’t Be Scared is a radio hit in the making and the chorus is just ka-ching. The slower build-up in the verses is done with care and passion, while the more energetic chorus is a great sing-along and everything easily falls into place during the song. There might be some Aerosmith & SR-71 (obviously) influences in this song, but the song only benefits from that.
“Superhuman” is a strong album that got decent press and some very good airplay around the US and Canada. And it deserves that success cause the songs are well-constructed and are infectious and easily connect with the listener. Cinder Road’s obviously in for the long run. The sound of the band is a mix of a lot of popular things out there so they might not be the most renewing band around, but they take the best of their influences and make some damn catchy songs from that.
I’m So Sorry
The catchy opener I’m So Sorry kicks off the album in a way that represents what this band is about. The groovy, alternative powerpop shows energy and clever songwriting. The infectious chorus is pure gold and the song is proof that Cinder Road is a commercially very attractive band.
Bad Excuse
The album continues with Bad Excuse which sounds like a catchy Bon Jovi-influenced powerpop song with powerful vocals and clever hooks. Cinder Road continues to lay down songs that you can’t get out of your head.
Back Home To You
The ultimate radio single candidate Back Home To You is a song that dates back from the Plunge-era. Already one of my favorites back then, this powerballad still impresses me. The rootsy guitar and comforting melody work really well for this song and the empathy in the vocals adds even more to this excellent song.
Should’ve Known Better
The uptempo, alternative rocker Should’ve Known Better has a very familiar sound, which makes it easy to connect to it. It might be reinventing the wheel, but if it’s a good wheel, I don’t see a problem with that. And this song’s a pretty damn fine wheel if you ask me.
Get In Get Out
Get In Get Out, a post-grunge rocker, maybe a few Foo Fighters or Smalltown Sleeper similarities here and there and I can think of a few more bands to compare this song too, but that’s kind of beside the point as Cinder Road executes the song with power and class and makes it their own.
Learning To Love
The ballad Learning To Love is one of the weaker songs on the album. It just doesn’t really sound convincing, the build-up is standard and it’s a ballad like one of the other 2 million we hear on the radio everyday. They should’ve poured a little more into this one, in my opinion.
Feels So Good
I can’t help but compare this with other bands in the genre like July For Kings, Smalltown Sleeper and the likes. Maybe just a little smoother, more polished. And that’s basically what I miss in this song. It’s too smooth, while it could be great were it a little more rough ’round the edges. It would’ve been purer and more energetic. Nonetheless it’s a fairly good song.
SuperHuman
The title track is an interesting one that definitely grew on me as time went by. The gritty, alternative song that reminds me of frontman Ruocco’s former band SR-71 is very catchy and is a good song to rock out to. The Bryan Adams influenced chorus temporizes and creates a contrast with the verses. It’s not the best song on the album, but it definitely isn’t one of the lesser songs either.
One
One is a song that doesn’t do much to me. It feels a little out of place. While the chorus is a nice sing-along, the rest of the song is just average. The lyrics nor the vocals are really all that impressive and the guitar work is quite standard. Would’ve been a nice bonus song, but that’s pretty much the place where I would put it.
Drift Away
Cinder Road raises the bar and meets up to the challenge. With Drift Away they come back strong and show that they are ready to continue their streak of strong catchy powerpop. Drift Away is a Bryan Adams-like pop/rock song with strong guitar work and infectious vocals. Lyrically this also is one of the band’s better songs.
Don’t Be Scared
The album ends with what probably is its strongest song. Don’t Be Scared is a radio hit in the making and the chorus is just ka-ching. The slower build-up in the verses is done with care and passion, while the more energetic chorus is a great sing-along and everything easily falls into place during the song. There might be some Aerosmith & SR-71 (obviously) influences in this song, but the song only benefits from that.
“Superhuman” is a strong album that got decent press and some very good airplay around the US and Canada. And it deserves that success cause the songs are well-constructed and are infectious and easily connect with the listener. Cinder Road’s obviously in for the long run. The sound of the band is a mix of a lot of popular things out there so they might not be the most renewing band around, but they take the best of their influences and make some damn catchy songs from that.