When you put together Travis Clark (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano), Hunter Thomsen (lead guitar and backing vocals), Drew Thomsen (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Dan Duncan (drums, percussion), you have a band called We the Kings from Bradenton, Florida.
The name Smile Kid is a line that comes not from a title song but rather from the fourth track on the album, “The Story of Your Life.” I’m not sure a story of my life would coalesce into a song that sounds like We The King’s version, but nonetheless, it can’t be denied that it is a catchy tune.
Next on the list is “In-N-Out (Animal Style),” a song that probably has some sort of sexual double entendre but after I read the title, I was too busy driving to my friendly neighborhood In-N-Out for a cheeseburger to notice the song’s potential deep-seated meaning.
The next song in the repertoire is “We’ll Be a Dream,” featuring Demi Lovato (aka one of Disney’s over-promoted tween stars). I think that’s all that really needs to be said about that one.
As I continued to listen to the album, I found myself thinking “hmm, quite a few of these songs sound oddly like something that once played in the background on an episode of ‘The Hills.’ This thought turned out to be quite ironic because their song “Check Yes Juliet” (not on Smile Kid) was in fact, in an episode of said show. That’s not to say good music can never come from an MTV reality show, but in my esteemed opinion as a music writer, it rarely gives an album or song any brownie points.
I suppose now is as good a time as any to mention my distaste for albums that put acoustic versions of earlier songs on the album at the end. Maybe I’m cheap, maybe I’m picky, but having the same song twice on any album, in any capacity just feels like a rip off to me. I want to get my $10 worth and have every song be new and original (even though “big” bands like Coldplay have even pulled this shtick before).
Smile Kid is what I like to call a good “summer album” with an “infectious pop sound” (and not just because there’s a song on the album with the word “summer” in it). What is a “summer album?” Well, based on my own personal definition, such an album is one that is a) terribly catchy b) can be played ultra-loud from any form of vehicle with the windows rolled down, c) though it qualifies for point “a” and “b,” you never really listen to the lyrics or what the songs themselves are about d) after coming to terms with “c,” you bob your head and tap your fingers accordingly.
I would not say the album was my least favorite of all time. It’s catchy and found myself tapping my foot along to the beat on more than one track, I was just faced with mounting skepticism as I continued my listening party. If any song you ever produced at any time appears in an MTV reality show about spoiled Los Angeles-based celebrity-wannabes, combined with having a well-paid Disney actress appear on one of your songs, that unfortunately does not scream “serious band!” for me. Instead, it screams “we want to be famous!” a little too much for my taste which sadly ruined my enjoyment of the majority of this album and of the band in general.
Rating: 
(1.5/5)
All of Catharine Acurso’s photos can be found 
Instead of joining the crowd, we decided to head over to see You Me At Six sing for their hot, sweaty pop punk set. With heavy bass, rock distortion, and hangovers from the night before, You Me at Six played “Finders Keepers” to a huge crowd—much bigger than I saw the rest of the day at the Kevin Says stage.
This Providence from Seattle (with accents that might suggest otherwise?) were the next band we checked out on the Kevin Says stage. If it’s possible to shred with a tambourine, This Providence did just that. In “Playing the Villian,” the lyrics are viscous: “I hate who you’ve become, I don’t know you anymore.” You’d never know so much rock came from men with such baby faces. Everyone clapped along to “That Girl’s a Trick” and everyone shouted the lyrics to “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” with their hands in the air.
As the sun started to set, the bands only kept getting better. All Time Low hit the stage to “I’m getting fucked up…lets get drunk.” The ATL crew kicked off their set with their newest single “Weightless” jetting quickly into their foul mouth antics: “This is not a g-d damn concert, it’s a revolution… filled with dicks and titties, blood and sweat and tears… and cats that I hit in my car on the way to work… which is not true because I’ve never had a job in my life.” They played all their favorites—“Jasey Rae,” “Poppin’ Champagne” (with a rock thrash interlude), “Lost in Stereo” (off their newest release Nothing Personal), and “Six Feet Under the Stars.” Someone threw a pair of boxers on stage dripping with sweat and later Alex yelled that we all needed to get “a little more naked.” All ages of women (and men in women’s pants) were singing along to the poppy pop punk hooligans.
with, ADTR’s set quickly stole my heart. Super high energy and a sea of moshing and fist throwing. The air seemed to cool down just in time for the set so that we could mosh especially hard. The guys on stage seemed so genuine and earnest. The band shouted from the stage that “LA has been here from the start.” They sang an equal number of songs from their newest release Homesick and older songs like “I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?” and “Show ‘em the Ropes” with intense lyrics and even more intense guitar shredding. I felt the music through the crowd and it was a great feeling.
most recent releases Shudder and The Walking Wounded and a few of some oldies. “Devotion and Desire” set the mood for the set as Anthony’s smooth vocals wailed “I know the spark inside your eyes was just the match I use to set myself on fire.” Playing other favorites like “The Walking Wounded,” “Carry On,” and “Head On a Plate” caused the few who weren’t singing along to mosh in a circle pit.
It’s rare that I stay till the end of the day at Warped Tour but this year it seemed as though over half the attendees had the same reason to stay–3Oh!3. 3Oh!3 has managed to confuse people into liking them. Not that their music isn’t awesome, but they defy categorization and therefore manage to cross over some thought-to-be impenetrable divides.
