It makes sense that the band with the battle cry of “Defend Pop Punk” would eventually take aim at the heart. With its self-titled Rise debut feeling a bit safe at times, we needed Man Overboard to reclaim that Real Talk urgency. I’m not saying the band’s last album was bad, but it was missing some of the punch its debut possessed. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Heart Attack, as Man Overboard has brought back its defibrillator to jumpstart things once again.

One of my colleagues stated that it finally sounds like the band is composing complete songs instead of just hooks, and I tend to agree – at least that’s how the self-titled came across to me; it had killer choruses but not much else. Heart Attack remedies that, however, as album opener “Secret Pain” delivers the right amount of kick, as the mid-tempo verses and energetic chorus gives off the sense of a refined Real Talk track. “Boy Without Batteries” features one of the album’s best choruses (good luck getting that bridge out of your head), while the title track and “Suppy” are pure pop-punk bliss.