CAPTAIN BLACK BEARD had a hit with their self-titled first album, and their sophomore outing, "Before Plastic" was pretty good on its own merits. Their third album is this LP, "It's a Mouthful", which has a lot of Pop/Glam Rock sound and more than a few ballads. While not mind-blowing or - in my opinion - as good as their previous outings, "It's a Mouthful" isn't a bad album, but I think that CAPTAIN BLACK BEARD will do a lot better on their next record. I know how hard bands work to put out their music and how invested they are in their work, so I hate to give bad reviews or say something negative, but I also have to give my honest impressions as a reviewer.

The opener, "Divided Feelings", is a ballad and is probably my favourite song right out of the gate. Something about it is catchy and I just think that it is a brilliant Pop Rock track that had me really excited for the rest of the album. "Take Me to the City" steps away from ballads to a subdued party track that didn't really get me feeling much, but I still found it interesting.

Skipping ahead we come to to the tracks "All I Need" and "Mouthful of Love", both of which are a bit softer and the former is more of a romantic love song. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, and while I honestly tried not to like it after all the other songs about infatuation on the album, I really couldn't help myself. It's not a standout track but something about it is still endearing; which I should probably assume is just the nostalgic 80s tone.

"When It's Love" is a fairly innocuous tune with vocalisations playing the part of a hook, which is sort of played out at this point."Something She Said" has a faster tempo but the same tired premise as every other song on this LP. Dear readers, don't get me wrong here, I'm not some dejected love-hating fool. I am simply not a big fan of albums that are all doom and gloom and devil worship. An album that is all hand-holding and rainbow kisses gets old too. I like variety and nuance in my albums, especially when they are twelve songs long. It takes until "South Beach" before we get another track that isn't obviously romantic.

"Fallen" wraps up the entire experience with a forlorn lament about heartbreak without someone to catch the narrator when he falls. All I can say is at least this one takes a different turn. If this had been in the middle of the LP I could have gotten through it with more enjoyment, but coming in at the end, it just made me want for more freshness. The finale has some interesting riffs but still keeps the Pop influence that ties it to the rest of the tracks.

CAPTAIN BLACK BEARD are capable of a lot better material than what I heard here, and I'm hoping that it is just one picky prick (me) with a bad opinion. None of these songs are bad on their own, they are just blended together too much. I will wait anxiously for their next album but I don't see adding this one to my collection, even though I loved the previous outings by CAPTAIN BLACK BEARD.