Given their name, one would assume Philly's Goddamnit would resemble Alkaline Trio's gloomy brand of pop—punk. Not so, as the group's new full—length debut How to Take the Burn covers a slightly broader scope. A sort of grab bag, the record ranges in style from Hot Water Music's throaty punk to Rival School's more rock—oriented riffs, with the occasional Smoke or Fire—ism thrown in.

At 14 tracks, How to Take the Burn reveals a plethora of ideas, and while that diversity keeps Goddamnit from sounding like the average Orgcore band, a little more cohesion might have helped make the band sound like itself. All the same, Burn is another welcome rocker from a city with plenty of worthwhile up—and—coming punk bands.

The record opens with the one—two punch of "Hear About It" and "How to Take the Burn," in which the band discusses such delightful themes as aging, failing and carrying on all the same. The opening track's line "Able to fake my way down this one way road" reads like a mantra. Plenty more lyrically depressing, musically uplifting tracks follow.

One thing Goddamnit does copy from their namesake is throwing a couple of acoustic tracks in the middle and end of the record for diversity. "It's Not Astronomy" and "14 With Whiskey" carry more melancholy, but beautifully so. Hooray for the sad punks.

How to Take the Burn is a promising start for Goddamnit. While it at times feel like a tour through the members' record collections, it's also hard to fault their choices.