With Confidence - "Better Weather" (Album Review)

Every year there are a handful of pop/punk or pop/rock bands that release new albums that stick out to me. Usually the bands that stick out have some characteristics that make them stick out. It might be that I just feel an energy from the music. Perhaps it's the production or the songwriting is on point for the style. This year With Confidence has been one of those bands that has been on my radar. After a few listens to the single and one look at the album artwork I eagerly added their new album Better Weather to my anticipated albums of 2016 list.

Leading up to the release we've heard a few songs. All of which are catchy and kept up my excitement for this album. "Voldemort" which has the title lyrics "better weather" in the song particularly stuck out in these early songs. It's insanely catchy and I really enjoy the lyrics. It's a great first song for this album and really sets the pace nicely. I really enjoy the intro to "Archers", the pacing of the song, and the vocal performance. "We'll Be Okay" is insanely catchy and sing-a-long-able. "Gravity" starts of slow with some somber acoustic guitars and a strong vocal performance and builds into nice heavy guitars. It's reminiscent of something that Yellowcard would do. "Long Night" is a somber piano based ballad with some strings and it became a favorite of mine after a few listens. Overall, I'm really impressed by a lot of the vocal work on the album.

Most of the songs on this album are tailor made for summer. The production on this album is clean and everything here sounds nice and polished. The songs have a ton of energy and electricity to them that I can sometimes hear and feel on some of the better pop/rock albums. I notice some similarities musically to All Time Low especially with their most recent album, Future Hearts. I think if you're a fan of All Time Low then you're going to really enjoy this album. I might even be enjoying this slightly more than I did Future Hearts after a few listens and that says something because I really like All Time Low. This is pop/punk or pop/rock depending on your definition that leans heavily towards the pop aspect.

It's hard to stick out from the pack when playing this genre and style because the music has a formula and it really is just that little bit that help a band stick out, at least most of the time. On Better Weather, With Confidence is able to do just that. About every aspect of Better Weather helps them stick out just enough to create one of the better albums I've heard from the genre this year. From the cloudy color-filled artwork to the bright fast paced songs this band has crafted an album that I know I'm going to listen to a lot this year. This is sure to be one of my go to summer albums!