charlie brown gets a valentine

dismissed

'In an effort to create a fine blend of emotional punk, indie pop mastery, and subtle math rock tones, Charlie Brown Gets a Valentine's second full-length release "Dismissed" has continued to align itself sonically with J Church and early Face to Face.

Either way, it's pop punk and it's super-catchy. (Saying it's catchy as fuck would be too vulgar.)

It's tempting to file this album under party punk, especially with all the drinking references and the cover drawings of a half-full/half-empty rocks glass and an almost empty pack of smokes. This is not as poppy as mainstream counterparts Blink 182 and their likes, but it's just as addictive. Contrary to the title's suggestion, this album cannot be easily dismissed. Somewhere beneath the layers of distorted guitar and earth-shaking bass lines lies a good deal of talent. If you look hard enough, you'll find it.

"We could've been so much better than this," sings Lucas Carscadden on "Forget Tonight," one of the album's early tracks, but what's the point? The band accomplishes their goal of grabbing your attention and making you dance without showing off. Now that, above all else, is impressive.

There's no reason for the members of CBGaV to show off. The members of this band have proven their eclectic abilities around the D.C. area and in other Mid-Atlantic indie scenes with their other projects that have ranged from The Axis Set, to Jenhitt, to A Study in Her.

The only thing "Dismissed" is missing, when compared to "Commencement," is a linchpin track. The first CBGaV album contained "Disco vs. Punk," an incredibly memorable song destined for mix tapes and late-night drunken singalongs. While the songs on "Dismissed" are memorable, none of them singularly leap out of the whole mix. On the contrary, this album takes a little bit longer for the songs to penetrate that part of your brain that won't allow you to stop singing a song you haven't heard for days. With time and patience, though, songs like "Caffeine at Night," "Best Early Morning Buys," and "Instructions From Her Hero..." will become selections in that jukebox rotation in your mind.