Something Nobody Asked For

Soapboxer

Local group Soapboxer returns with Something Nobody Asked For. The 10 tracks on the album are well-produced, with crisp vocals, guitars that cut through the mix, and big drums. The album is a love letter to Thunder Bay and becoming an adult, but like most love letters it is often a bit confusing to witness from an outsider's perspective. Every song on the album showcases a different location in town. For instance, the second track, “Lakehead University,'' is about the band starting a new year of school and trying to find themselves in the process. This format at its best guides the listener through the experiences and feelings of living in this northern town. At worst, it feels like the band names local places ad nauseam, overshadowing the emotional context of the tracks. The last song on the album, “It Was Nice While It Lasted,” is by far the lyrically strongest song on the album. It follows the same motif as the rest of the album but dials back the Thunder Bay iconography a bit to present a more introspective song that wraps up the album very nicely. Overall, even though this album has its quirks, it is a fun listen as a local and I hope Soapboxer continues to develop their sound on future releases.