As a warning to anyone looking for the next big step in the progressive journey towards new and exciting electronica-influenced pop-punk, Madina Lake is definitely not it, no matter what the hype might suggest. Every song on the debut EP from Chicago-based Madina Lake sounds suspiciously familiar, and it would be bordering on criminal to attribute that to anything ‘timeless’ about the music’s quality. Beyond their redundant approach to modern alt-rock, catchy harmonizing and energetic powerchord choruses do little to save this band from a stale trap of tacky/trendy synth keyboard overlays and an uninspired vocal style.
Complete with semi-hardcore breakdowns, angsty high school notebook lyrics (“Inside I start to fall apart / And I’ll pretend I’m holding on / So I guess I’ll bleed in silence”) and the occasional righteous scream of ire, The Disappearance of Adalia is little more than music to dye your hair black to.
The avid pop-punk fan may find herself foot-tapping along to this album, as there is a sort of undeniable catchiness lurking behind its brazen unoriginality, but it’d probably be a more worthwhile endeavor to pass this up in favor of simply buying music from any of a dozen other artists Madina Lake is trying, and failing, to be.