Three years after the release of their third album, The Afters, formally known as Blisse, released their third studio album, “Never Going Back To OK,” on Feb. 26. The album was released on INO Records, which is a primarily Contemporary Christian label that is distributed through Sony Records (Epic Records and Columbia Records.) Their line-up’s first album “When the World is Wonderful” was released in 2001, under their former band name, Blisse. The band then kept the same members and released their last CD, “I Wish We All Could Win,” under their current name in 2005.

Generally, by a band’s third album one would expect their sound to be fully realized and established. The Afters most definitely define their sound in this album, and the outcome is a considerably above average pop-rock release. This album and the band in general aren’t revolutionary by any means, but the overall muscle and passion of “Never Going Back To OK” still can not be denied.

The band begins the album with an anthem-based, relatively short song, entitled, “The Secret Parade.” The song itself fails to even max out at two minutes; however, this short song sets the tone for the album brilliantly. The song starts off with guitar sounds and vocals that sound like they could have traveled through a time machine from almost twenty years ago. But, strangely enough, it works.

Building on the momentum of the first track, is the second track, “Never Going Back To OK,” the album’s title track. The Afters’ sound is possibly the tightest here on their title track, as the band finds a way to merge the verses and choruses flawlessly, giving listeners stellar vocals to sing along with and a poppin’ beat to shake the hips to.

The album also has it slower points, but they still manage to deliver some solid musicianship and lyrics in these softer tracks. In songs like “Keeping Me Alive,” “Ocean Wide” and “Summer Again,” The Afters put themselves on a respectable level with indie-rock successes like Copeland, Relient K and Jack’s Mannequin. While they align themselves with those types of bands, they also allow themselves to be comparable to a band who took over the industry in 2007, The Fray.

These ballads of sort are structured primarily around piano-laced verses and choruses, and strong, heartfelt vocals. While Marc Dodd delivers some firm drumming throughout the entire album, the band’s strength seems to lie most heavily in the melodies provided by Joshua Havens (guitar), accompanied by beautiful harmonies from Matt Fuqua (guitar) and Brad Wigg (bass).

According to the band’s website, vocalist and guitarist Brad Wigg says, “ ‘Never Going Back To OK’ seems to reflect transformation,” adding, “I think a lot of the songs are talking about moving forward, of becoming who we are meant to be.” With this album, the band is most definitely moving in the right direction. While the release probably isn’t going to sweep the entire nation off their feet, the band definitely shows proof that they can hold their own in a vast sea of pop rock.   B

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