Get past all the assumptions. Yes the name, might be cheesy, and yes, the boys are in fact “cute,” and of course they have plenty of “fan girls.” If one has never heard of Cute Is What We Aim For, they are that one band that has 6 music secrets a day about them on this small site called Livejournal, ever heard of it? They are that one band on that one label that happened to produce these bands one might have possibly heard of like say Fall Out Boy, or Panic! At the Disco, for instance. They are that one band that one might overlook and kick oneself in the ass, a year later.

The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch is the debut album for Cute is What We Aim For on the label Fueled By Ramen. At a first listen, you might find this CD to be average. Not bad, not great either. If The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch is anything it’s catchy. One could absolute hate Cute is What we Aim For, hear one of their songs, and then end up singing along to every word.

After a few listens on repeat, Cute is What We Aim For never leave you. There are songs that are fun, that make you want to get up and dance like the song “Newport Living,” while others like “The Forth Drink Instinct” can bring emotions up from places you could not imagine. You’ll catch yourself skipping down the street singing “If you lie, you don’t deserve to have friends// if you lie you don’t deserve to have them.” Some lyrics are deep such as “You want to be dressed in poetry// but imagery doesn’t fit,” while other lyrics will be silly, yet still loveable in some way as in “I've got birds in my ears //and a devil on my shoulder// and a phone to the other //and I can't get a hold of her// and what's a crush to do?”

The singer Shannt has a strange way with words. He himself has been quoted (on this CD none the less) saying “[he’s] got the gift of one liners.” He has a way with writing words, and has a way with using he word just by how he annunciates it while singing.

Cute is What we Aim For has done one of three things with The Same Old Blood Rush With a New Touch. They a) struck gold, b) sold their souls, or c) knew exactly what they were doing and exactly when to do it. So pick up the album, and you decide.