Track Listing:
1. Tracing Back Roots
2. Fade Away
3. I Survive ft. Aaron Gillespie
4. Ghosts
5 Present, Future, and Past
6. Never Let Me Go
7. Hope
8. Tell Me Now
9. A Moment
10. I Am Free
11. Through the Darkest Dark and Brightest Bright

Photos of Masked Intruder taken at their Montreal CA show.

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When you first crack open this record and expect the most subdued pop punk that France can offer, you are quickly overwhelmed with a visceral taste of what melodic guitars and poppy beats sound like when they are blended with hardcore shouts and downtuned chugs. Akin to the duality of Four Year Strong‘s outstanding debut album “Rise Or Die Trying,” Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! runs the regime of a wonderfully balanced musical attack of light and bubbly pop-punk that you might expect from The Wonder Years, while also injecting potent melodic hardcore the likes of Woe, Is Me and Of Mice & Men into one appealing sweaty, musical, man broth. The concotion is one that many one-dimensional genre bands will stay away from, but it’s always see artists bridge the gap. (excluding 00′s Numetal of course)

C!N,CC! do their best to make the transitions almost unnoticeable. There are times however that one moment you are riding a solid bassline and bouncy Blink 182 riffs in “The Progression Of Regression,” when you hit the hefty guitars and a bellowed shout of “Go fuck yourself!” on the album’s title track “Pardon My French,” but with the record’s constant yo-yo’ing from soft and heavy, it never slows its momentum or feels forced in anyway. This is one trait that Joey Strugis is known for giving to each of his productions, making sure to give each effort many dimensions without it feeling like it was all patched together from the b-sides of The Color Morale‘s last album mixed with some obscure pop track. And even when Chunk! No, Captain Chunk takes a break and focus on a technical fluffy serenading track in “So Close And Yet So Far,” the band never neglects their hardcore roots and immediately jump back into a song with umph, “Miles And Decibels.”

The album’s lyrical one liners are abundant and cheeky enough to remain fresh all the way through. From “I’ve spent the last few years pouring gasoline on every bridge. Don’t waste your time on me, I keep on losing my self-esteem,” from “The Best Is Yet To Come” to the unsubtle jabs “Wake up, look at your life. you don’t need to stalk mine. Here is my advice: get the fuck out!” from “Haters Gonna Hate,” all emotional states are represented here, not just the plastic-lifeless happiness or a crippling dismal depression.

The shining achievement of “Pardon My French” happens to be the string chemistry between Paul Wilson and Éric Poncet, who not only flood this record with impeccable melodic riffage, but also jump from genre to genre without the need to pause and grab another guitar from the rack. Not to mention Paul’s depthy growls. Chunk! No, Captain Chunk happens to have gotten harder with this record and fans of FYS will notice a lean towards hardcore more so than punk here, but like hard drugs, eventually you will try and like cocaine enough to feel the need to inject heroin immediately! Stand out tracks include the anthem-shout backed, moshing song “Haters Gonna Hate,” the addictive punk paced “Restart,” and the contrasting soft track “So Close And Yet So Far.” Personally I’m just relieved that “Pardon My French” didn’t require a translator as Bert and Paul at least sing in English wonderfully, plus anyone who does this at their shows, can’t possibly be anything but great; even with an outdated love for the Goonies. [Staff]

Score: 4.5 (out of 5)

Release Date: April 30th, 2013
Record Label: Fearless Records
Genre: Melodic Hardcore
RIYL: Four Year Strong, Woe Is Me, Me Vs Hero

Track Listing:
1. Restart
2. Taking Chances
3. Bipolar Mind
4. Haters Gonna Hate
5. The Progression of Regression
6. Pardon My French
7. Between Your Lines
8. I Am Nothing Like You
9. Reasons to Turn Back
10. So Close Yet So Far
11. Miles and Decibels
12. The Best Is Yet to Come