Call them popcore, easycore, melodic metalcore or whatever sub-subgenre you feel like inventing yourself.(Try it; it just might catch on.)Whatever descriptor you choose for French quintet Chunk!No, Captain Chunk!, we should agree they’ve taken a great leap forward on their sophomore album.They weren’t exactly shrinking violets on 2010’s Something For Nothing, but the follow-up fairly explodes with a confidence missing from that outing.Part of that may be due to vocalist Bertrand Poncet’s notably improved English, but it’s also apparent in the songs themselves.
Each track is built around a boyish, well-scrubbed chorus any mother (or any A Day To Remember fan) could love, but those candy-sweet moments are coated in dense, constantly-shifting arrangements.Producer Joey Sturgis rotates expected elements—blast beats, livewire riffing and the obligatory death growls—as well as lighter touches, like the lo-fi drum loop that opens “Taking Chances” and the keyboard coda of “Miles And Decibels,” creating a mix that demands constant attention.It’s an exhilarating stop-start ride, but it’s also worth noting that the most straightforward and subdued song—the yearning “So Close And Yet So Far”—might be C!NCC!’s best yet.
