With little experience in the punk music genre I wasn't sure what to expect from Caféïne's upcoming album, New Love. After listening through the 11-track album I was pleasantly surprised. A playful, energetic and hopeful tone is established during the first track, “New Love,” and the album rarely deviates from this likable formula. Although the melodies are fun and grab your attention, I wish there were more tracks like “Black Swans” to provide something with a different tone from the rest of the album. If the fast-paced “Love is a Riot” ever has a music video it could only be visualized as items being smashed in slow motion. It’s a good time.
When the instruments blast it is difficult to understand the lyrics, but for a number of the songs you aren't missing too much. Unfortunately, a few tracks don’t offer an abundance of poetic greatness. Having said that, it doesn't detract significantly from the experience because of Caféïne's fantastic melodies and vocal talent. The song “Lettre d’amour” demonstrates this because it’s sung in French, which I regrettably cannot understand. Regardless, without knowing the lyrics, it was one of my favorite tracks on the album because of the well-performed vocals and fitting instrumentals. On other tracks such as “F****** Time,” the lyrics take a refreshing turn away from his girlfriends and offer insight into his relationship with his parents.
In the end, New Love is a fun ride from start to finish. You may not be dazzled by deep lyrics, but you will dance like a happy idiot to the extremely catchy tunes. New Love is a congruous collection of work that can, at times, feel one-sided. However even during its one-sided moments it remains an enjoyable ride.
