Pioneer – Pioneer (Review)

Slospeak Records

Released January 24th 2012

Reviewed By Tyler Hess

Pioneer – Pioneer Amazonmp3 / iTunes

It always feels good when something good happens to a band that I’ve been rooting for over the years. When a band I’ve been following for years called News For Verona decided to re-brand themselves with the name Pioneer and release a self-titled album via Slospeak Records, I had a hunch that something good was going to come out of this.

Pioneer (the album) starts off with a short introduction on the acoustic track called “Clarity”, making it clear that this album would be one from the perspective of young men that were growing up and growing into their lives. “Lights” is a pop rock track that will set the tone for the general feel of the album, as the singer Chad Shirrel belts out “its safe to say, we’ll never be the same”.

“Treason” kicks it up another notch with a call to their pop punk gleanings with a reasoning that says “love is what it takes to do what we’ve been up to”, a means by which they can strengthen their resolve to live to their calling. “Dreams” gives an emotional call out to get out of complacency, followed by a desire to do “Whatever It Takes” to become better than they are.

After a short layover on the instrumental track “Mantua”, we’re re-introduced to the softer side of Pioneer on “Reaching”, a ballad hoping for something more out of themselves. “Long Way Home” brings it back with a little more flair with some sweet guitar solos, before we get some optimism out of “Better Days”.

As the album begins to come to a close, Pioneer show us how get “Catharsis”, by being on our knees in prayer. This is followed by the obvious theme of the album found in the song “Coming Of Age”, as they war with the ideas of cultural expectations and expressions that any young man or woman has to deal with on their own terms at some point in time as they grow up, definitely one of the highlights of the album. We then come to a close just the way it began, with the acoustic track “King In Rags”, leaving us with a fond farewell to a thoroughly enjoyable album.

Pioneer has a sound that can easily be compared to pop rock bands with a pop punk background such as Run Kid Run or Relient K of years gone by and a little tinge of The Almost or even the early days of The Wedding, but make the music their own as they’ve created an album well worthy of a listen and a purchase for any fan of the genre.

Score: 4.5/5

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