Boys Like Girls - Love Drunk (Sba2) (CD)

All Music Guide

Boys Like Girls' selftitled debut album was an unexpected success, eventually going gold. Devoid of any hit singles or a truly distinctive sound, the album seemed to catch on because it was a perfect distillation of the emo pop sound with no rough edges to scare people away. For the followup, 2009's Love Drunk, the band sticks to the same basic template of super slick, glossily produced emo pop with uptempo songs that sound stadium singalongfriendly and ballads that seem destined to melt teenage girls' hearts. The difference this time is that the songs are better written and hookier, especially the rockers. "She's Got a Boyfriend Now" and "Contagious" sound like 2000s updates of the classic '80s sound of pop/rockers like Bryan Adams and Rick Springfield; "Real Thing" even conjures up the red leather and headbanded ghost of Loverboy. Strip away a few of the modern things like AutoTune and programmed drums, and there you are. These very catchy, super fun rockers comprise twothirds of the... album and the strongest part of the record; the rest is made up of modern rock ballads that sound like the work of a different band entirely. In the end, Love Drunk is an improvement on their debut and a surprisingly good pop/rock record with emo leanings.- Tim Sendra, All Music Guide Read more Less