ALBUM REVIEW: Control My Sanity – Like Pacific
Rock and pop-punk hard hitters LIKE PACIFIC make anthems designed for people to feel bonded over impassioned, tuneful melodic music. Their debut album, Distant Like You Asked, exploded the band onto the Canadian underground scene, rising through the ranks at the same time as now household names in pop-punk like THE STORY SO FAR and TITLE FIGHT. Now, these Toronto natives are taking their no nonsense, fun filled approach and shoving it to the forefront of their brand new album Control My Sanity, accompanying this with lyrics that listeners can connect to on an energetic and emotional level.
Having already released four massive singles in the run up to the record’s release – album opener Ketamine Jesus, Love Them And Leave Them, title track Control My Sanity and Waste Of Breath – LIKE PACIFIC have already demonstrated their their signature punchy pop-punk sound paired with impactful lyrics. From the outset, before even delving into the deep cuts, it’s clear there’s a no strings attached way to approaching the sonic process on these singles.
From the upbeat arena filling choruses in Ketamine Jesus, to the melodic and visceral dynamic of Jordan Black’s vocals throughout Love Them And Leave Them – a song you can’t help but feel designed for the fields of Slam Dunk Festival – to the contagiously catchy chorus of “You said I’d be safe if I stopped with you/To little too late, now I know the truth/You’re the reason I don’t want to live” in Control My Sanity, and finally to Waste Of Breath, a song that takes aim at those who just don’t have the decency to respect people, all of these songs tell their stories to perfection.
Beyond these tracks, standout songs further into Control My Sanity continue along the lines of this infectious blend. Hollow Tears, Catchy Your Eye, Fail To Speak and closer Time Won’t Heal You all put on a masterclass in punchy drums by Taylor Ewart in particular. They may be less blazing full on aggressive bangers, but by opting more in favour of melodic hard hitters they still make for works of emotional pop-punk art.
Control My Sanity is an album that has been a long time coming – a casualty of navigating writing, recording and releasing around the mad last period of time everyone has endured. On this new record, LIKE PACIFIC get emotionally personal and pump up their punchy and memorable pop-punk and rock sound for an album that has definitely been worth the wait.
Rating: 8/10
Control My Sanity is set for release on December 3rd via Pure Noise Records.
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