Smile, Kid Album Review - We The Kings

Track List
1. She Takes Me High
2. Promise The Stars
3. Heaven Can Wait
4. The Story Of Your Life
5. Rain Falls Down
6. Summer Love
7. In-N-Out (Animal Style)
8. Spin
9. Anna Marie (All We Need)
10. We’ll Be A Dream (feat. Demi Lovato)
11. What You Do To Me
12. Heaven Can Wait (Acoustic)
13. She Takes Me High (Acoustic)

Finally. It's been two years since their self titled album has come out. In those two years We The Kings broke into mainstream music, placed two songs in the Billboard top 100, had several headlining tours, and won over the hearts of hundreds of thousands of teenagers. We The Kings has steadily become a mainstay in iPods everywhere. As one of the last releases of the year, this album carried a significant amount of hype. I'll admit that I was worried for this album, however it is definitely a good pop album.

Currently, my favorite song is the opener, She Takes Me High. It contains the usual corny lyrics and extremely catchy lyrics, especially in the chorus. Travis also uses some of his best vocals in the chorus. The bonus acoustic version at the end of the album shows off the vocals even more. Promise The Stars is a fairly boring track in which nothing stands out. The verses are extremely boring and the lyrics are nothing special. Heaven Can Wait has already been talked about on the blog. My opinion has not deviated much, as I still am not a fan of the track. The song is finally bursting into top 40 radio, but I do not expect it to get anywhere. The acoustic version is much stronger vocally than the original, as Travis' voice is much more raw and shows much more emotion.

The next few songs are not anything special. However, they go right along with the album. The difference between individual songs and a full length album is that it is extremely difficult for every song to stand out. However, the more the album flows, the better the songs sound when played together. The Story Of Your Life is decent; the more I listen to it, the better it gets. However it is more filler than a single caliber track. The next track, Rain Falls Down, was originally supposed to feature Cassadee Pope. I am waiting for that version to leak, since I have a feeling it would drastically improve the song by adding another dimension to it. It's still extremely similar to Story Of Your Life. Summer Love continues with the streak of filler songs. The whistling can get fairly annoying.

The tracks finally begin to improve with In-N-Out (Animal Style). I'm not even going to comment on the track name, other than saying that's what the song is about. The synth definitely adds a lot to the song. The chorus is catchy and the bridge is definitely strong. A very good track, and single potential. Spin is one of the best songs on the album. The chorus has many similarities to Check Yes Juliet. The whole track seems to be produced a lot better than the filler tracks. It overall sounds different. If you liked the old WTK singles, this is your song. Anna Maria (All We Need) is a synth heavy song that although isn't as bad as the filler tracks, still is not anything special.

We'll Be A Dream is the song based on a similar theme to many other breakthrough bands of the year; a celebrity vocalist. In this song's case, it's Demi Lovato. I had an extremely bad feeling about this song, however I was extremely pleased with the outcome of the track. I had never been a Demi fan, however even I have to admit her voice is excellent in this song. The song seems like We The Kings' version of Two Is Better Than One. The song style is similar, with Demi coming in the second verse and the choruses building up intensity. The final track, What You Do To Me, was the second song released. It is also in the running to be the second single. If it does win that honor, it will be well deserved. It follows the blueprint We The Kings formula for success: catchy hooks and cute lyrics.

I was actually worried at the beginning of the review that I would have to rewrite the entire introduction due to the fact I wasn't sure that the album was as good as I thought it was. After listening through it several times, it's definitely better than I thought. It's a grower, but so are many full length albums. I disliked Nothing Personal at the first listen, but by the end of the year it has become one of my favorites. We The Kings has definitely created a catchy pop album that will almost sure produce several top 40 hits. Check out We The Kings on myspace HERE.