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ALBUM REVIEW: "Great Heights & Nosedives" by Roam

   Overshadowed by another great pop-punk record this week, Roam's second album Great Heights & Nosedives will probably go under the radar of most casual fans of the genre, which is a shame, because it is a great improvement on their debut Backbone. Where Backbone was seriously lacking in the production area for my (and lots of others') tastes, Roam now sounds like most other pop-punk bands with enough money for a decent production job. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, either - if it isn't broke, don't fix it - but for me it does get pretty derivative relatively quickly. The same can be said for the music too. As a pop-punk record it is ahead of the lacklustre Backbone, but still fits firmly in the discount bin of the majority of other records in the genre. Worth a listen to see how far Roam have come, but here's hoping they can make the same step forwards with their next record and leave the crowded pack.

   Favourite Songs: Alive and The Rich Life of a Poor Man

    Least Favourite Song: Scatterbrained

   Rating: C+

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