This Legend – It’s In The Streets

  • Steven Farkas posted
  • Reviews

This Legend

It's In The Streets - Cyber Tracks

This Legend, the band featuring Ben Harper and Longineau Parons III (of Yellowcard), Chris Castillo (Stanley and the Search) and Steven Neufeld (HeyMike!) have just dropped their debut album, It’s in the Streets via Cyber Tracks, the label founded by NOFX guitarist El Hefe.

With such an impressive pop punk legacy already behind the members of This Legend, its no surprise that It’s in the Streets follows that well trodden road and overall it stands up pretty well. Lead single Lyrics With My Pen kicks the record off in familiar territory and unfortunately sounds a little generic. That is certainly not the case on Holiday From Crazy, a much better tune and the opening line about the world being full of crazy people is a particular highlight, while the lyrics go on to tell the story about taking yourself out of the firing line when life gets crazy. The mid song rant seems a bit shoehorned in, but we are starting to hear what the band is capable of. As the opening riffs of title track, It’s In The Streets begin, it really starts to come together. This story of homelessness and the plight of those who have to live it is a completely unexpected, yet poignant moment that is very impressive. My City is almost Blink 182-esque, yet done well and even if the ode to a hometown thing is a little tired, the killer guitar riff that follows the 2nd chorus goes some way to make up for it. Once I got over the disappointment that Regrets wasn’t a cover of the Flop classic, I had to admit it is a pretty fun song in its own right.

Overall It’s In The Streets gets more right than it gets wrong, but there is still too many songs that feel like filler or start with promise and then descend into mediocrity (Get Fast). Unsurprisingly, if you’re a fan of any of the previous bands the members of This Legend were part of, you are likely to appreciate This Legend.