Perhaps the best way of describing Santa Cruz is as metal with a feel-good vibe and a generous helping of cheese for good measure – but is it all a bit much? Well, the short answer is yes.
There’s no denying that their self-titled sophomore album is a lot of fun and you’ll certainly be wanting to grab a hair brush in order to sing along to the massive choruses that feature on the album but it all just seems a bit much. It’s like Santa Cruz are trying too hard and it’s a bit of an overwhelming listen at times, especially since each song seems to follow the same cut-and-paste approach to each other which results in an album of songs that all sound fairly similar to one another.
It’s essentially not a bad album but the more you listen, the more grating it gets. It seems like this band is definitely one more suited to a live environment rather than being listened to on CD – there’s a great amount of energy in the music and there’s plenty of moments for crowd participation for starters, but it’s not an album that’ll you’ll be desperate to revisit.
5/10
