By Jenny Lopez (JennyL@bandvibe.com)
Dated: 06/28/07

The newest release from the Chicago pop-punk band, The Junior Varsity entitled Cinematographic, is not nearly as pop-punk as I expected. Instead with more of an indie rock sound, I was delightfully surprised. This is the 3rd full length album the band has put together since they formed in 2002. With catchy lyrics such as "so tired and 1/2 insane, i'm on a steady diet of nocacaine," sung by lead vocals Asa Dawson, the band has completed another great album. In some songs, I also heard a slight resemblance to the sound of Sting's voice.

The lyrics in this album are by far my favorite thing about it. I enjoyed the music, don't get me wrong. I just found that the lyrics got lost in the music, and with the lyrics being the strongest point of the whole album, the music almost drowned the lyrics out. In the middle of the album, there is a break from the indie/pop-punk sound and instead replaced by a song with very few lyrics, and mostly what sounds like a spanish guitar playing. It is in fact a cello.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to the album and would recommend it to those needing a bit of a break from the normal genre of pop-punk, but not wanting to stray to far. I found it to be very atmospheric, and easy to listen to.