We Shot the Moon's "A Silver Lining" suffers not from bad songwriting, but from a lack of identity. The band's songwriting talent peeks through in several songs, but the band takes the majority of its cues from similar, more-established artists. This results in an altogether average pop-punk album that is not their best effort.

"A Silver Lining" would be much more entertaining if the band would play to its strengths. The piano and string arrangements that give standout tracks "The Bright Side" and "Come Back" their charm are rarely leaned on anywhere else. There is a Ben Folds-ian ballad in "Amy" and a Muse ringer in "Candles," but the bulk of this album consists of guitar chime covering up the piano.

This leaves We Shot the Moon with a bunch of songs that aren't bad, but could have been written by anybody. The All-American Rejects could have snapped up "Should Have Been." "In Good Time" has a meandering tempo and oohs that make it perfect for any number of radio-friendly pop-punk bands. There's nothing to complain about in these songs (most are somewhat catchy), but there's not much to cheer, either. This problem is only compounded in the lyrics, which are standard pop-punk themes: carpe diem, hard-scrabble optimism, and the trials of young love.

If you're a fan of All-American Rejects-style guitar-pop/pop-punk, you will like We Shot the Moon's new album. It won't rock your world, but you'll enjoy the new tunes. Everyone else should look elsewhere until We Shot the Moon dials down the guitars and turns up the piano and strings."Stephen Carradini