When they first appeared with 2006's
Fix Me, Vancouver's
Marianas Trench were an able if somewhat uninspiring pop-punk/emo act reaching for the back seats without any attempt at subtlety. Five years on and no more subtle, they return with their third LP,
Ever After, a concept album bursting with color and wild ambitions. Having seemingly nowhere else to go but bigger, bandleader and brain trust
Josh Ramsay has stacked the deck with huge vocal sections, epic orchestrations, giant pop riffs, and a loose story about a stranger in a strange land ruled by an evil, heart-stealing queen and her toy soldier factory. Odd concept albums are nothing new in rock music and
Marianas Trench largely use
Ever After's story as a springboard for big-minded pop production and audio pyrotechnics. Their pop-punk core remains intact, but is tempered by strong elements of synth and dance-pop, like on the gospel-inspired "Stutter" and the lead single "Haven't Had Enough." With its vocoder playfulness, the strutting "Truth or Dare" has elements of
Gotye-style pop, while the excessively overwrought vocals on "Desperate Measures" make them sound a bit too much like some aggro boy band. Still, if the entire production seems overtly over the top, it's hard to fault
Ramsay and his crew. The type of pop/rock they call home traditionally favors a big-budget sound, and it's nice to hear a group play around stylistically within the genre. They know their craft well and can fashion hooks and melodies that last for days.