Orange

The third release from these L.A. minors is a pivotal one considering the fact that the line-up has changed since their previous albums and the blossoming members have made the passage into adulthood. With these factors, one would expect so much more from a band of young hopefuls but what we get is nothing more than generic pop punk that's radio-friendly, derivative and easy to digest. Songs like "Desperation" and "Never Going out Again," although the disc's more favourable tracks, could easily be Alkaline Trio efforts and the album closes with a poor rendition of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day." Don't mess with the classics, kids. Phoenix is obviously Orange's most mature work to date but it suffers when the band try for a more commercial sound that leaves the album feeling too tame and unexciting.