Florida boys hit their target

    In recent months, it has seemed like the hardcore/pop punk hybridization popularized by bands like Set Your Goals and Four Year Strong has reached a point of severe saturation. For every young band that comes out of nowhere and does the genre well (i.e. Title Fight, The Wonder Years, Such Gold, etc.) there are 10 more bands that massacre and cheapen everything the forefathers of the style set out to establish.
    It's gotten to the point where one really has to sift through a lot of bad teenage poetry and half-hearted breakdowns to get to a band with a little meat on their musical bones and a little conviction in their hearts.
    Enter Jacksonville, F.L.'s Inside the Target Car. The band recently released their debut record, "Good Missiles, Good Manners, Goodnight," and if it catches on the way it deserves to, it will be a real breath of fresh air for the scene. The band, singer/keyboardist John Shannon, guitarist Dean Winter, bassist Zach Schacter and guitarist/singer Stephen Pamas (drummer Greg Bosworth departed from the band after the recording of "Goodnight") utilize chugging guitars, gang vocals, soaring melodies and kitschy keyboards to carve out their own distinctive brand of happy hardcore on songs like "All the King's Horses" and "Moral Combat."
   The record begins with the aforementioned "King's Horses." The song kicks things off the right way, with a jagged riff that nicely offsets the pretty vocals that permeate the verses. And the keyboards, oh the keyboards. The entire album is laced with sugary sweet keyboard melodies that serve to complement the vocals perfectly, almost like adding another singing voice to the mix.
   "Horseshoes, Hand Grenades & You" follows nicely, with a nice, chugging lead in riff and Shannon's on point, pained vocals ringing out over the chorus. "Thank You Armen & Leuth" brings a handclapping stomp to the band's sound, and strategically placed gang vocals about friends and burning cities keep the good vibes going.
Make no mistake about it, Inside the Target Car are a feel good band who pull no punches and make no apologies for their sunny sincerity. The lyrics are honest and open without being cheesy, and the musicianship is excellent. This is a band that could really do some damage if they found the right audience.
    There isn't one bad song on "Good Missiles, Good Manners, Goodnight." The high pitched vocals can be grating at times, but there really aren't that many things to complain about here. Inside the Target Car, certainly aren't inventing the wheel, but they're very good at what they do.
    The album's standout track, "This Could Be Charlie's Comeback," is an epic opus of roadtrips and romances, ending with acapella in a round that recalls early Brand New. When these Florida boys sing "We'll be running for the West Coast, and putting on our warmest clothes, putting up with a night out in the cold," it's easy to imagine a room full of sweaty, tattooed kids piling on top of each other to participate in the sing along.
Check them out at Myspace.com/insidethetargetcar.