There was a time, not that long ago, when bands with numbers in their names dominated the punk landscape, ushering in a period of relative immaturity that was accepted, dare one say celebrated, in the pop-punk genre. In those bygone days, to escape mainstream attention, all while making a grab for the mainstream audience, bands such as blink-182 and Sum 41 grabbed their balls, sang about first dates, and engaged in enough penis-jokes to be considered the antithesis of the raging boy band-era. Yet, before long, their middle-school audience made up mainly of boys, grew older and moved onto more ”sophisticated” styles of music. The death of the number-bands seemed at hand.

Fast-forward to 2011 and to one’s surprise it seems that the number-bands of the late-1990’s and early 2000’s are yet again poised to takeover of the ears of many music listeners, specifically the regrouping of blink-182. Yet, these are not the bands of yonder year, but rather, a matured version of the adolescent groups that once represented a generation of rebellion. Case in point: Canada’s Sum 41. With the release of their fifth studio album, Screaming Bloody Murder, the Canucks make a stab at mainstream relevancy, only to find themselves bogged down by clichéd expressions of maturity, musicianship that has stagnated, and an aura that lends its self to week-old stale bread.

It is not that Screaming Bloody Murder is all that awful. In fact, considering the band’s previous effort, 2007’s Underclass Hero, this new album is a step forward, almost making up for the ground lost on their previous record. However, when compared to Sum41’s magnum opus, 2004’s Chuck, Screaming Bloody Murder seems chock-full of b-sides. Introductory track, “Reason To Believe,” bellows in the album behind heavy bass and crunchy guitars before launching into the title-track, “Screaming Bloody Murder,” a Chuck-esque tune about self-loathing and misfortune. Blazing guitars and Deryck Whibley’s infamous nasally-vocals carry the song to heights previous Sum 41 tracks lack. So far, so good.

“Skum F*k” follows with a classic punk-sound that reminds the listener of dirty-VFW fare, but in a palatable way. Yet, the song is a mere appetizer for perhaps the best back-to-back set pf songs Sum 41 have put together since their heyday. “Time For You To Go” is as much My Chemical Romance as it is catchy with a chorus so infectious one might need to listen to it over and over and over again just to fulfill appetite. Oh, and Tom Thacker’s guitar solo midway through is impeccably placed. The duo-of-awesomeness is concluded with “Jessica Kill,” an aggressive tune much in the guise of “The Hell Song” off of 2002’s Does This Look Infected? It is brilliantly executed with drummer Steve Jocz blowing the track apart.

Nevertheless, the biggest issue with Screaming Bloody Murder is its length. At 14 songs, it is entirely too long. There are not enough decent songs in the second half of the album to justify its duration. Ballads such as “What Am I To Say” and “Crash” are just not that good, suffering from bad lyrics and cliché acoustics. Ballads have never suited Sum 41 well, and after listening to those two tracks, it is easy to discern why. Alas, the final song on the album, appropriately named “Exit Song,” is a decent spin on a ballad. Yet, it should have been the only one on the record. Faster tunes suffer as well in the second half of Screaming Bloody Murder. “Sick Of Everyone” flirts way too much with Panic! At The Disco at points and “Back Where I Belong” seems to be a lesser version of the aforementioned “Jessica Kill.”

Screaming Bloody Murder is a jekyll & hyde release where the listener finds in the first half of the album some of the best songs Sum 41 have ever created and only to later meet a redundant, bland, and even forced second half. If anything, this record is a nostalgic trip back to middle school for some long fought-off Sum 41 fans while it will not disappoint their current fanbase. It is a step in the right direction, but also shows that the group has become a moniker of themselves with little room for innovation. Where they will go from here is anyone’s guess.

**.5/*****

*This review was composed by Mike Meeze