It is the story of almost every suburban pop-punk act: some guys from a small town hook up via the skateboard scene and stumble upon music; with this in common they form a band and another pop-punk group is born. There are variations to this story at times but for the most part this seems to be the case. Georgia's A Small Victory's account doesn't differ from their predecessors and neither does the music.
El Camino is the debut full-length for A Small Victory on Lobster Records. There are definitely no punches pulled on this release and it is pretty much ten tracks of pop-punk mediocrity. I am all for pop-punk if it is done right but this just comes across as gimmicky and at times stale.
There are a few gems buried in El Camino and if the band veered more in that direction then it would be a much better listen. For instance "Blindman's Holiday" is a huge rock song with booming drums that reminds me of the glam rock of the 80's with a really catchy chorus. The acoustic "Farewell Capeside" is a nice change of pace but way too predictable and "James Dean B-Side" is a very nice closer. "Otis" is another pop punk gem that A Small Victory gets right, but unfortunately it stops there.
The lyrics are pretty bothersome and this is where I think Walker and company struggle like in "Hell-Bent On Heaven's Smile" where he sings the line repeatedly, "Don't forget to tip your bartender and we'll hit the dance floor" is almost comical. Or even on the "Stabbing Tree" which opens with the line "Just one last cigarette to temporarily erase you."
It could be that A Small Victory is still searching for their sound and trying to craft it. The main problem is there are way too many other bands out there doing this much better. El Camino struggles to find solid ground and hopefully isn't any indication of what is to come from this band in the future.
1.5/4
