Album Review: Courage My Love - Becoming

Album Rating: B-

It's entirely possible that Becoming is an example of a young pop-punk group maturing nicely. The songs are more varied, there's a noticeable lack of chugga-chugga-chugga breakdowns, and there are some excellent slower songs that would have felt totally out of place on For Now. However, it's more probable that this EP shows Courage My Love with far more resources with which to record. The eminently marketable Ontario trio is releasing Becoming on a branch of Warner Music, and everything here displays significantly more polish than was evident on previous releases. The guitars are sharper, the songwriting itself is more "genre-standard," and the vocal harmonization is better executed.

Artist of the Day: Courage My Love

Courage My Love is moving up the pop-punk food chain quite rapidly. After a rather solid debut EP, the Ontario-based trio has apparently been signed to a branch of Warner Music, who will be releasing their next EP on June 11 (streaming here). And why shouldn't they? As I pointed out in my earlier review (linked above), the band is very highly marketable. What's more, though, they make some really solid pop-punk on the poppier side of the spectrum. While their first EP wasn't all that intricate, it was energy-laden, catchy, and fun — and time will tell if Becoming holds up to the high standards the band set for themselves.

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Album Review: Courage My Love - For Now

Album Rating: B+

Looking back on the release of For Now, it's a little strange that Courage My Love didn't get more support than they did - they seem to be doing everything right. With just over 25,000 Facebook fans and only one YouTube video with more than 1 million views, it's unclear why the band didn't skyrocket like so many similar groups. After all, their marketing strategy seems rock solid. Hot chick singing and playing guitar? Check. Hot chick playing drums? Check (this alone probably should have doubled the size of their current fanbase alone). Hot chick playing bass? Well, no, but you can't be perfect. Ridiculous music videos that showcase said hot chicks and bassist? Check - just look at "Bridges," filmed on the field at a staged football game that's a bit like A Day To Remember's video for "I'm Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?". Ridiculous song titles? Check - try "Anchors Make Good Shoes (If You Have Issues)." Going out of their way to appeal to a large potential group of fans (namely geeks)? Check - "I Sell Comics," a free download off of the band's Bandcamp page, uses part of comic don Walt Flanagan's work as lyrics.