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Forever Yours Artist:  Shorthanded Label:  Tooth & Nail Records Length:  15 tracks/37:26

Tooth & Nail must have signed every independent Christian punk band in America, all at once.  In the past six months, they've released debut albums by Hangnail, Off the Record, The Undecided, The Deadlines, Element 101, and probably some others that I'm forgetting.  Some of these bands have been fairly typical (and boring!) pop-punk, while some of the others, most notably The Deadlines, have had an odd sort of appeal.  The latest of these punk offerings is Shorthanded, who, while certainly not lackluster in their attempts, have released an album with the traditional strengths and weaknesses of pop/punk.

Astute listeners may recognize lead singer/guitarist Andy Wiseman from the now-defunct Tooth & Nail band Crux.  Don't be deceived, though--Shorthanded is considerably more modern than that particular old-school punk band, and could easily be compared to MxPx or Slick Shoes.  Unfortunately, Wiseman and company don't quite match the appeal of those two bands, though, and Forever Yours begins to get very boring about five or six songs into it.

On the plus side, Wiseman is a much better lyricist than his contemporaries, and this makes his band all the more appealing.  Standout tracks lyrically are "Curls and Curves," which hearkens back to Five Iron Frenzy's "One Girl Army" in its dealings with feminine self-image; "Imitation," which tackles the issue of pornography ("Does it satisfy, just to fill the shadow of your deepest need?"); and the title track, which is a somewhat ambiguous love song to either a female or God. 

Shorthanded's got plenty of time to mature and grow, and I personally look forward to hearing their next effort.

Michial Farmer 5/29/2000

Well, well, a surprise. This is much better punk than you would expect from the juvenile cover. These guys are solid musicians, with emotive walking bass lines galore, guitar solos, and varied tempos and rhythms. The songs are about as memorable and distinct as punk can be.

Shorthanded have a very melodic, friendly tone, good for listening to while holding hands with your girlfriend. The vocalist is a little weak and limp-wristed at times -- the only blatant weakness on the album. They remind of the punk cover supergroup Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. The lyrics deal mostly with relationships, but lean more to adult feelings and thoughts characteristic of some
emo, rather than the teenage shallowness of other punk bands.

Looking for some pleasant punk that knows more than a few chords and doesn't play the same song over and over? Shorthanded is your band. 

Josh Spencer       8/28/2000