The words “Plus Ultra” simply translate to “further beyond.” The King of Spain, Charles V, coined that term and used it as his motto. Sorry for the history lesson, but I thought it would be best to teach you this phrase since those words are the driving force behind Carousel Kings’s fifth studio album, Plus Ultra.
This term is what shaped the band on their new album, trying to literally go “further beyond” what they’ve done in the past. The Lancaster, Pa., quartet try to one-up themselves, pushing the boundaries of their pop-punk style by meshing in numerous things like ukuleles and a saxophone (“Shelter,”) poppy electronic elements (“Shellshocked,”) and even a frequent drum machine that wouldn’t sound out of place in an All Time Low or Fall Out Boy song (“Jamais Vu.”) But does it work out in the final product? Let’s dive in and find out.
Producer Rick Armellino (Counterfeit Culture, Hawk, The Road To Milestone) worked his magic, helping Carousel Kings find their new look and style. This isn’t the same Carousel Kings that we once new.
The group teeter on the line that divides pop-punk and pop constantly on Plus Ultra, sounding like modern Blink-182 and All Time Low one second (“Plus Ultra,” “Shellshocked,” “Jamais Vu” and State Champs and A Loss For Words the next (“Code Breaker (Smile,)” “Move Slow,” “Lock Meowt.”)
Sometimes it works out incredibly well, like “Shellshocked” and “Great White Buffalo,” but when it doesn’t, it fails hard. Case in point “Shelter,” the longest track off the album that feels like a rejected Waterparks song done poorly. The haunting electronics are great on the track, but it gets shot down quickly like a duck in Duck Hunt once the ukulele starts strumming. It just goes all over the place, and somehow it has time for a guitar solo and a saxophone solo. You might wanna skip over this one.
Plus Ultra is filled with so many guest appearances that it feels like it’s trying to give Say Anything’s In Defense Of The Genre a run for its money. It ranges from smaller artists like Lexxe (“Move Slow”) and Ricky Armellino of Hawk (“Jamais Vu”) to “how did they get them?” artists like Rory Rodriguez of Dayseeker (“Great White Buffalo”) and Spencer Charnis of Ice Nine Kills (“Shellshocked.”) The guests work fine on each track, except for Matthew Van Rossem’s part on “Truth Seekers.” The GutterLIFE vocalist’s rapping and screaming parts feel out of place on the easycore track.
Overall, Carousel Kings’s crossover into the world of pop is in-between hit or miss, but it’s mostly a hit. They did want to show that they could go “further beyond” what they could originally do, and that’s exactly what they do. Plus Ultra is a risky move from the group, but they’re able to make it work, even with its problems.
Punk Goes Prenatt 