– by Pieter Sips

It's been three years since Cerebral Ballzy released their energetic, self-titled debut. The binge-drinking, skateboarding New York teenagers got to tour all over the world, preaching their message of "fast music, white powder and cheeseburgers". 

On their sophomore album 'Jaded & Faded', the youngsters appear a bit more mature and confident. With TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek producing, Cerebral Ballzy allow some power pop to intrude their new album. Songs like "Lonely as America" show the new Cerebral Ballzy, which is a lot more melodic and catchy than we're used to from them. Sitek is the man in the right place to let the melody go hand in hand with the fuzzy guitars. 

Fans of hardcore punk don't have to worry though, they luckily didn't fully renounce their previous style. On shorter songs like "Parade of Idiots" or "Speed Wobbles" they still sound as frenzied as they used to.

All in all Cerebral Ballzy sound a bit more professional, as they allow different influences to their music. Now we're just very curious in what direction they will head for their third album!