The third and final album by
Animal Chin shows that it's probably for the best that the group decided to split around the time of its release. Lead singer and primary songwriter
Jamie Woolford's heart clearly isn't in the kind of ska-pop that had predominated on their earlier releases; the most effective tracks, like the almost
Cheap Trick-like "Tell Me What It Means" and the punky "Seven," sound more like the power-popping band
Woolford formed almost immediately after leaving
Animal Chin, the far superior
the Stereo. Elsewhere, the ska rhythms on songs like the nearly hardcore thrash of "Not Like You" sound like they were tacked on as an afterthought. Indeed, the best song on the album is the acoustic singer/songwriter pop of "Bleed," a song that shows that
Animal Chin had gone about as far as they could. ~ Stewart Mason