Ten Second Epic — Hometown

Edmonton's Ten Second Epic can do suburban punk with the best of them. So the question with Hometown, the quintet's sophomore album, is: Can they rise above their contemporaries?

The group straddles the line between traditional pop-punk and metalcore, which ensures neither camp can outright dismiss them. But they sound trapped between wanting to keep it real and trying to take it to the next level — namely, pop stardom.

Songs like "Get So Far" and "Every Day," featuring Postal Service-cribbing pop singer LIGHTS, display their knack for hooks, and the songwriting throughout is rock solid. But the band have yet to develop a personality that will make them immediately recognizable like Sum 41, Fall Out Boy or even Simple Plan.

Until then, Ten Second Epic are just another wide-eyed suburban punk band singing about the girl that got away.

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