Bayside | C

Punk rockers Bayside are back with their fifth album and are hoping to build upon the success of 2008's Shudder. Killing Time certainly builds upon the band's previous body of work, continuing the quartet's powerful blending of riffs and catchy vocals. Bayside has no problem with throwing a wave of noise at their listeners, and Killing Time isn't an album for those who like their music gentle.

The opening trio of "Already Gone," "Mona Lisa" and the album's standout track "Sick, Sick, Sick" get proceedings started with a bang, and it's not until eight tracks in, with "On Love, On Life" that any respite is offered. But Bayside play to their strengths, and stick to frantic power-punk for the rest of the album. It's hardly groundbreaking stuff — there aren't a lot of new ideas here.

After more than 10 years together as a band, Bayside has clearly found a formula that works for them. "Switching to a different record company has allowed us more time to spend on each individual song," said Nick Ghanbarian the band's bassist. Yet despite their efforts, there may not be a huge amount of development from their past albums. It's almost as if Bayside is on cruise control, putting together a record based solely on instinct and energy rather than building upon these two and creating more delicately crafted songs.

Killing Time is a perfectly listenable album, it's approachable and catchy — but in choosing never to challenge the listener, Bayside has come up with an album that will end up fitting neatly into the stack of angry guitar records already out there that won't rise to the top. Those who are already fans won't be disappointed, but there's nothing unique here that will bring new listeners in.