When you hear it took a band a year to write a new album you immediately expect it to be something special. Say No More have created eleven tracks of simple, catchy, brilliant pop-punk. With an ear rich for melody they have gone ahead and crafted the best songs possible. It’s comforting when listening to the songs, just how quickly it sinks in that their extra efforts have not been in vain.

The immediacy with which ‘Masquerade’ draws you in is an instant sign of intent from Say No More. The hook “inside of this masquerade” and the accompanying “ahh’s” just make it an instant classic and the sort of song which will happily have you up and dancing. The vocal delivery and urgency of front man Peter Pedrazzi does bear a resemblance to Motion City Soundtrack, even Dashboard Confessional at times. There’s an unflinching conviction and reality in all his words, you can see crowds hanging off his every word for years to come.

‘Long Drive Home’ could quite easily become a driving anthem, the huge chorus echoes and stays with you long after the song has actually finished. ‘For Drew’ is a heartfelt song ever so subtly hidden inside another massive Say No More song. The sincerity of the lyrics is really inspiring, “what can I say to ease the pain, I never lost someone so close to me, let me know just what you’re going through.” The sentiment holds strong throughout this song and as we meet with ‘Honestly’ it’s easy to see that there’s more to this band than upfront catchy pop-punk songs.

‘Tell Me What You’re Thinking’ is a slow burner just as you thought. It fades off slowly and never really goes into the huge chorus that we’ve become accustomed to. The title track delivers on that promise once again and the previous song seems like a fitting interlude before going back to the normal. As things go on Say No More lose that initial intensity and revert to writing slower songs. The songs sound great nonetheless but you feel betrayed from what Say No More were promising at the beginning. It’s a very competent album, despite having a year to write, they seem to have settled with a formula rather than pushing the diversity their so clearly capable of.