Take the metalhead's delightful guitar riffs, mix it with the pop-punk hooks of Blink-182, splice with a bit of ADD and the next prom-night hit, shake gently and you get Sum 41's latest release, "Chuck." The sophomoric Canadian quartet seems to have dropped some of the potty humor that gave them their first 15 minutes of fame. Two years since the band's last attempt at getting the laughs that counterparts The Bloodhound Gang pulled off much better, "Does This Look Infected," the group jumps back onto the scene with "Chuck." With the release of "Chuck," the band seems to have found one of the things missing from previous albums: maturity. From the opening, metal-esque ballad, "No Reason," and for the following 34 minutes Sum 41 crosses genres on bridges built with heavy guitar riffs and lyrics that take over the listeners' soul. The first single from "Chuck," "Pieces," is lyrically sensitive and just screams for an acoustic remake. The song emotes less of the teen angst that is found in many ballads attempted by bands of Sum 41's youth and standing, and draws emotion. With lyrics such as the chorus: "If you believe it's in my soul/ I'd say all the words that I know/ Just to see if it would show/ That I'm trying to let you know/ That I'm better off on my own," the group has found something that will stand out and actually last. "Chuck" has a good balance between strong music, and strong lyrics. If Sum 41 keeps up the work they did on this album they may be on the scene longer than this reviewer originally thought, and they are welcome to stay.
***1/2 out of 5
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