Give Ryan Kepke some time to get older and improve his voice and writing style and Slick Shoes can become better. Wake up Screaming isn't as good as it's made out to be. Ace Troubleshooter and MXPX are still better even though the styles are different. Ryan's voice is OK for this style of punk, but it's unwavering in the fact it's very monotone.

Some decent songs on the record are "Angel" and "Lucky." "Elisa" is a decent song written in letterform. "Good Intentions" is about asking ourselves "Why do I do things that hurt you? Intentions start out good, but end up twisted." Something that's really funny is the hidden track of AC-DC's "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" done in instrumental mode.

One of the unfortunate things about punk in this style is mostly yelling the words instead of singing them. Given Ryan is only like 19 or so years old, if he changes their style around a little, he can shine a little more. Overall, I didn't like the album very much even though the lyrics were good. The songs are short and not very good. If you like Slick Shoes, then buy it. If you like punk with style, you might want to look into something else.

- Review date: 5/24/01, written by Kevin Chamberlin