Aussie Trio Columbus release their second album is the college campus collage ‘A Hot Take On Heartbreak’. Kicking off this sunny/dark disc is the mid-Nineties resonating single ‘I Don’t Know How To Act’ which cycles along the perimeter of an all-encompassing Pop-Punk boardwalk. A Placebo riff kicks the second cut ‘Don’t Care’ into the midday, moody and soon to be single sun before the stripped back, slightly tired ‘Worn Out This Week’ sails close to Pop/Rock/Emo perfection. Solitude, sadness and heartache slowly build on ‘Feelin Low’ while ‘Give Up’ continues the, how can I carry on without her/him in my life, just walk away feeling. Love’s cruelty continues on ‘Woke Up With A Heart Attack’ whereas ‘I’m Piece Of A Shit’ is a copycat Bowling For Soup single in all but words. A punctuated ‘Cut It Out’ breezes in out of a Punk storm before settling in a safer place, which is a massive miss as the song never quite reaches its glaring potential. The acoustic love song is represented with another song about relationship breakdowns. Final cut ‘Feel This Way’ completes an album for those going through their first, second or third serious gut-wrenching, mind fuck, “it isn’t you, it’s me” break up. Love your pain, embrace your romantic failures and make sure the only scars you carry are emotional ones. Columbus feel your torment.
COLUMBUS
A HOT TAKE ON HEARTBREAK
UNFD
7.5/10