Man Overboard-The Human Highlight Reel - EPs, B-Sides and Other Assorted Songs
Rise
May 10, 2011

I saw these guys play with H2O, and I thought they were terrible. Their “Defend Pop Punk” T Shirts intrigued me, but the music sounded so forced, and I couldn’t stand the vocals. I had completely written them off, even after this album arrived in my Email. But then this album started playing on my iPod one day while weeding for my brother-in-law. I was very surprised to find that these melodic pop punk songs I was enjoying was the same band I could hardly bare to listen to.

I’m not sure if this is a “serious” album, as Man Overboard seem to write over-the-top songs with some silly lyrics (there is a lot of unnecessary swearing, which makes me feel that the songs were written very tongue in cheek) and sillier song titles. The music is very formulaic, which produces no surprises, but makes for a solid listen. Those same vocals I hated live actually sound pretty good here. There’s a little bit of a whine to the duel vocals, but I’m reminded more of a Taking Back Sunday croon than a New Found Glory wail.

This is a pretty damn catchy collection of their stuff. I’m not afraid to admit that I was wrong about Man Overboard being a piece of crap, and I can honestly say that I’m a fan of their music. I now find myself eagerly awaiting an actual full length.

Written by: RF
BACK