I liked this band (although, I have to be straightforward. This Century separated after releasing its last album. So, if anyone wants to look them up, I’d suggest not getting too emotionally attached to the band. I don’t want a My-Chemical-Romance-broke-up sort of reaction). This Century produced an intriguing and memorable album that I found to be rather spectacular.

I’m not usually a big fan of pop punk music because artists of this genre usually lean more towards the pop side, but there’s a nice balance of pop and punk styles in Soul Sucker. This Century combined the two nicely, mixing buoyant lyrics with stripped-down instrumental backgrounds.

Although the lyrics are repetitive like in the song “American Girls,” it’s not so monotonous like what you’d hear if you listened to regular pop music. There’s an appeal to the music that I can’t really explain. The quick rhythms and the interesting fast-paced tones of the music drew me into the album’s songs.

My favorite song of the album, “Soul Sucker,” reminded me of the playfulness of American Authors and the pace of The Downtown Fiction. The beat of the song was not too fast and yet, not too depressingly slow.

While listening to this album, there’s a certain uniqueness to each song that is very apparent. Whether it’s the various upbeat yet heart-felt lyrics or the different uses of the various instruments, the songs are undoubtedly different from each other.

Soul Sucker is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before, but its songs are very catchy and pleasantly tuneful.

This Century is a talented band with an exceptional new album. And while I usually skip past these types of bands on my Pandora radio or on Spotify, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this album was easily commendable.