♫ Just Surrender | C

There's only one word to describe Just Surrender's new album — average. The alternative/power-punk band's third full-length album, titled Phoenix, contains nothing out of the ordinary. The album has a few songs, such as "Through the Night," "Stronger Now" and "Better To Leave," that are very reminiscent of the group's well-received first album, If These Streets Could Talk.  These tracks show a strong display of the band's dual vocals, something that has always been an outstanding feature of theirs. The songs also present the band's riveting guitar riffs and tuneful melodies. 

Another aspect that has always made Just Surrender distinct is their lyrical content, and Phoenix rates just about par in this area as a whole. Many of their songs seem to have rather cliché lyrics that offer nothing new to listeners. The track titled, "Burning Up" has a chorus that sings, "cause deep inside I'm burning up from you/you let me down so many times it's true/you play with fire and you're gonna lose,"and it provides little depth to the song, revealing how vanilla some of the album's lyrics are.

Though there doesn't seem to be too much of a new sound from Just Surrender throughout the album, the track titled, "Crazy" has an energetic feel that sheds light on the band's potential. One thing that Just Surrender holds true to in almost every song on Phoenix is creating enticing bridges. Nearly every track has a bridge that musically highlights their album as a whole. Though this particular album of theirs may be just average, it offers a lot of room for the band to progress and create more music that gives them an even more defining sound within their genre.