Chubby's debut full-length Is It Time? is an enjoyable album start to finish.

Veering away from the ska-core of the outfit to which he previously lent his trombone skills, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Dennis Brockenborough - along with his three bandmates guitarist/keyboardist Mike Beck, bassist Andreas Holmstrom, and drummer Jason Nute - now seems to favor a more straight-up rock style. Brockenborough's impressively strong vocals add texture to each offering: just check out his soulful crooning on "For What It's Worth" for a prime example.

Chubby really do have some excellent songs here, most notably the opener, "Serious", the toughest, punkest offering on the record; the powerful, impassioned following track "Sweet Song"; and the slightly heavier "The Reason". What this Boston band excels at is incorporating different elements into their energetic rock sound, resulting in an interesting album with much variation between songs. For instance, we have rocking numbers like the aforementioned tracks, as well as more subdued fare, in the form of "A Day and a Half", "Boxcutter", and "Fight or Fuck", with its emotive vocals and instrumentation that, though light and airy at the onset, picks up some momentum as the song progresses (Gigantic Music).

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