Letters To The President: Expanded Version (CD - 2004)

Hawk Nelson: Jason Dunn (vocals, keyboards); Jonathan Steingard (guitar); Daniel Biro (bass guitar); Nathan Walters (drums).

Bouncy, catchy, energetic punk-pop is immensely popular for a good reason: It's bouncy, catchy, and energetic! Hawk Nelson, an up-and-coming four-piece from Canada, mine that vein to good effect on LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT. Though their highly melodic, guitar-driven bubblegum rock doesn't necessarily sound that different from dozens of other Green Day imitators, it is bright, well-constructed, and not without its charms. Hawk Nelson also seem to have a thing for the Lord, which will endear them to fans of CCM rock. Their messages of faith are rarely overt, however, and don't distract--as they tend to do with some Christian bands--from the hopped-up, fist-pumping energy that dominates. A dash of emo (courtesy of the lead singer's sensitive-guy rock star voice) rounds out the band's sound nicely.

This young Ontario-based quartet works in a not terribly original but completely winning pop/punk vein, churning out power chords, hooky choruses, and sweet vocal harmonies at tempos that generally vary between medium-fast ("From Underneath," "Letters to the President") and rip-roaring ("California," "Recess"). They're on the Tooth & Nail label and little phrases like "It's from my Father's hand" and "She thinks life would be so simple if everyone would pray" keep cropping up, so there's good reason to believe that this is one of those crypto-Christian pop bands that can't help expressing its faith but is less interested in bringing you to Christ than in making sure you bop to the beat and take away a general feeling of uplift and encouragement. Of course, once in a while they'd like you to just bang your head, which explains the headlong, 50-second punk rush of "Recess." And they're not afraid to let you know that they sometimes stand by the window crying, either ("Take Me"), which one supposes is kind of endearing if you're into that whole Jade Tree/Promise Ring/Rainer Maria thing. Overall, not bad at all. ~ Rick Anderson minimize