Never getting the chance to listen to these guys before buying the album, I knew very little of this band. The only thing I knew was that they did a split with Bangarang! and that they fall under that "pop-punk with hardcore sensibilities" group that has been emerging from the influential depths of 1997.
Like their contemporaries (the many, many, many of them), this band fuses pop punk with a slight dash of hardcore. The only thing that threw me off were the keyboard synths, like somehow this band was trying to distinguish themselves apart from everyone else with it. At the first listen, I was not impressed. Have I had heard this before? Oh, right. Gradually, it snuck up on me and grew, like (insert unfunny joke here). Before I knew it, I was singing along and having the poppy hooks stuck in my head for days. Maybe even weeks. It has been in constant rotations ever since and I am glad to say I bought this CD for $6.97!
The only thing that dissapoints me are the lyrics and the trying-to-be-ironic 80's pop culture references and the acoustic song placed right in the middle. This band has the potential to do so much more than to sing about pirates, ninjas, the kool-aid man, zombies, and Captain Crunch. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news guys, but this is not a 15-year-old female's MySpace bulletin quiz. It is a really fun record, though, and I know what you're trying to do. Somehow, it works.
I really enjoy this record, from start to middle, from middle to end. It is a very catchy record with very catchy hooks. It's great for those grainy days when you want to be cheered up and not take life so seriously. I recommend this for fans of pop-punk, Motion City Soundtrack, polka dots, summer, and under-age tits.
