Metal Underground.com

What do you get when you cross the screaming vocals of hardcore with a more melodic modern punk sound? Kind of a mess actually, but sometimes a beautiful one on A Static Lullaby's self-titled album.

Vocal duties on the disc are shared between singer Joe Brown who handles the hardcore stuff, and singer/guitarist Dan Arnold who handles the more melodic vocals. The problem, other than the fact that that contrast has been done to death in punk and metal, is that the two styles don't often play well together on this album. "The Art Of Sharing Lovers" and the poppy "Trigger Happy Tarantula" are two examples of how the two singing styles can coexist well. On the other hand, the album's opener, "Hang 'Em High," has the two singing mostly separately and it's quite jarring when the song switches gears.

Instrumentally, A Static Lullaby does well, with guitarists Dan Arnold and John Martinez cranking out riffs that effortlessly straddle the divide between poppy punk and metal. The aforementioned "Trigger Happy Tarantula" is particularly noteworthy on this front, beginning with a superb guitar-and-bass intro and first verse that skip along merrily before a crunchy metal guitar riff. I really enjoy the interaction between the two guitarists on this one and the somewhat similar "Eager Cannibals."

Drummer Jarrod Alexander has some great moments on the disc, including the first minute or so of "Life In A Museum," in which he's playing faster than the rest of the instruments to great effect. He handles the changes in style on songs like "Stare At The Air," which creeps to a slow, feedback-filled end well.

Like I said before, the vocals on the album occasionally turn it into a bit of a mess, but it's never boring. Those looking for harder-edged punk to rock out to could do worse than A Static Lullaby — the band or the album.