In The Red
Volume 2
Suburban Home Records
4/10

“Alone is the sound of you not coming home/Falling down on my own/The silence of laughter is deafening/That’s the hardest part of being alone”

That’s the refrain of “Something Shocking” on In The Red’s second release Volume 2. This cheesy, horribly written chorus is typical of the release and pretty much sums up what you can expect from every track on the album. These guys cite all kinds of historically relevant influences like Avail, Jawbreaker and Hot Water Music, yet somehow they still manage to come off sounding more like terrible radio rock more often than not. At times there actually is a pretty evident Jawbreaker influence, but it sounds more like a bad copycat than a worthy tribute to a predecessor. There’s even a song titled “Jet Breaker” which, even if only a subconscious amalgamation of Jets to Brazil and Jawbreaker rather than a conspicuous homage to an idol, still makes me want to retch in my mouth.

-Luke Toney