If there were ever an album that suffered from an identity crisis, The Slack's album The Deep End would certainly be a fine candidate. It's not so much that the album is all over the map stylistically, but instead of sounding like a great album by a local band, it feels like an album that is supposed to hold us over until the next Foo Fighter release.
Sure enough, it's all pretty catchy. "Infatuations Never Last," the best track on the album, is an urgent, up-tempo pop-rocker that would sound good on any road trip—or (placement alert!) teen drama. The only part of this song that keeps it from being great is the clunky breakdown that truncates what could be a great emotional build-up.
It's not that the album isn't good—it's just that it would be if Chris Holt and Co. didn't sound so much like everyone else and instead came up with something original. But, with pop-leaning rock albums, I guess you can only hope for so much.
