Split Habit

Item: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Author: Phil Nichols

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

(2003)

Reviewed by Phil Nichols

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify

Label Double Zero RecordsDecapolisMay 2004

emo pop punk power pop

In the past Chicago has been the birthplace of many bands that have stretched the boundaries on genres, played a style all their own, and sought to make records that are original and innovative. Unfortunately, not all Chicago bands have that sort of mindset, and a prime example of this is Split Habit. This power-pop trio has created a debut that has songs that cater to just about every recent trend in music. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is opens with a track that sounds like a Nerf Herder B-side. The songs that follow shift from pop-punk anthems to a more trendy emo-rock sound. Finally the album closes with a dancy song that sounds like a bad Postal Service cover. Overall, the production is fine, and the album is very catchy, but this band needs to find their own unique sound. Right now they have nothing to separate them from the hundreds of other trend-chasing musicians that are trying to ride other artists' coattails to success, and until they do find a sound that is their own, their catchy hooks and sing-a-long choruses will become bland and boring very fast.

2/4