A Lesson Learned is the debut album from Essex-based pop-punkers A Few Too Many.
The eleven tracks that make up ‘A Lesson Learned’ claim to be full of heavy hitting pop punk anthems, and while there is certainly no doubting the enthusiasm that has gone into this, there is, unfortunately, very little else here that could suggest A Few Too Many are ready to compete with the myriads of other similar bands currently releasing albums for the summer.
There is the air of the DIY to ‘A Lesson Learned’. It has that bedroom recording production feel to it, audio levels and quality seem to drop track to track, vocals are hard to fully make out over music and it lacks any post-production shine, and while that DIY nature is admirable, especially considering the roots of the genre, it certainly stands against any statement of intent this band are looking to make as to why this should be the summer album you should buy, much less any long term impact they hope to make on the genre.
Despite all this there is something inherently likeable about A Few Too Many. Maybe it is the aforementioned enthusiasm, maybe the harmless nature of their songs, and it certainly does feel that there is some untapped potential here, but it needs some more tightening up and development before it could be fully ready to be showcased.
One track worthy of a listen is track 11 ‘Lessons Learned’, at a little under 5 minutes it is the softest track on offer, but by far the deepest.
Check out the video for album opener ‘I Always Knew’ here:
