Album review: Bearings – The Best Part About Being Human

We’ll warn you in advance: if you’ve just been dumped, do not spin the new Bearings album till the wounds have started healing. If you’re in the first flush of a giddy new infatuation, however, you’ll find your every thought and feeling reflected back at you. For their third album, the Ottawa quintet have bottled the sugary head-rush of a crush and put it on wax, right on time before the final rays of summer sun – and it’s as fun as it sounds.

The Best Part About Being Human isn’t exactly revolutionising pop-punk. At this point, Bearings’ sound still feels like a cross-section of other bands’ styles rather than its own individual thing. But then again, their priorities likely lie elsewhere. Their main strength is making music so full of feeling it could burst. The vibrant Ocean Dream doesn’t just sound huge but becomes an arms-spread-wide shot of euphoria (with a quirky sax solo thrown in for good measure), while the fizzy Blood Jam sparks fist-raising joy and I Want To Heal feels electric with a grittier, heavier touch which adds an intriguing undertone of angst to proceedings.

Aside from that, however, the album strikes an endearingly wholesome tone, with the anthemic, huge-hearted love song Slip being where Bearings get their sweetness and poetry just right. At other times, it verges on being a little too syrupy – Shaking Up The Scenery’s lines about impressing someone who 'loves the greenery' (okay?) with picturesque views are slightly cloying, while LFND almost overflows with optimism in a way that comes off as somewhat cheesy. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for an immediate, summery and easily likeable shot in the arm, The Best Part About Being Human will fill that vacancy very nicely.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: State Champs, Knuckle Puck, The Maine

The best Part About Being Human is released on August 18 via Pure Noise