Handguns showed a lot of promise on their “Don’t Bite Your Tongue” EP, got a good response and probably felt the time was right for a debut full-length. That album is out now on Pure Noise and is called “Angst”. The Pennsylvania outfit is off to a good start with “Porch Light”, a song that bursts at the seams with energy. The gang vocals that kick in towards the end are a nice touch as well.

Unfortunately they can’t keep that up and as you work your way down the tracklisting, you’ll find that all too often they rely a little too heavily on all the pop-punk clichés. And the fact that vocalist Taylor Eby’s voice is at times a bit too grating, doesn’t exactly help things along.

As far as pop-punk albums go, “Angst” is definitely not a bad album… it just doesn’t offer anything you haven’t heard before. And in a scene that’s really crowded once again, you need something that sets you apart from the pack. And for now, Handguns hasn’t quite found that something yet.