Grundvattnett

Digital DIY Zine for Atypical DIY Punks

[grundvattnet]

You Are Not Alone by Peter Unger

You Are Not Alone, song by Peter Unger

Rev Pete Unger - “You Are Not Alone” Song Review

Reverend Pete Unger is a religious leader in his community of Allentown, PA. He looks like the epitome of a 70’s pastor from Allentown, PA. Anyways, Ol’ Pete is releasing Christianity themed acoustic music. It’s fine, it’s nice, it’s a little bland, but it’s fine it’s fine it’s fine. Perhaps this song, “You Are Not Alone” is not my cup of tea (I just finished listening to that debut Dangers record, so Pete isn’t my kinda guy), but for what Pete Unger aims to do, he succeeds. It’s a pleasant, amiable, milquetoast little tune that passes from one ear to the next without much ado.

   Assuming you’ve just pressed play, you’re probably pausing right away to look up and see when Gordon Lightfoot changed his name and moved to Pennsylvania. Pete Unger apes the sound of Lightfoot,John Denver, and other such soft acoustic folk a little too well. It’s not a bad sound to imitate; the problem lies not in what he’s imitating, but rather, the fact that he’s imitating anyone at all. It’s a fine performance, but it doesn’t feel like his voice, his song idea. There’s not enough unique characteristics in this song to be particularly memorable.

    The acoustic guitar (along with what I believe to be a slide guitar?) help provide a really lush, chill instrumental for the Reverend to sing his little ballad. I feel like the guitars could’ve used a little less compression and a little more warmth, but I realize this is a nitpicky point to make. It’s well performed and while it might be like any other song in the genre, it’s nice to listen to in the moment. Pete’s vocals are mostly acceptable, but the recording quality and mixing job done on his vocals are terrible. There’s this off-putting distortion on his voice throughout the song, a clear marker of bad mixing and recording. If you focus purely on performance, he does an alright, if somewhat toothless, impression of Gordon Lightfoot.

    Okay, so while the lyrics are cheesy and saccharine, I can at least respect where he’s coming from here. He is a reverend, after all, and heavily influenced by folk music. “You Are Not Alone” tells the story of a few different people: a schoolboy, a single mom, and an old man. All of these people are, in their own ways, feeling very lonely and like no one cares. Pete assures each person with a chorus telling them they aren’t alone, ostensibly because Jesus “Friendly” Christ is always there for them. I’m not sure why I keep reviewing Christian artists, but here we are. The song is predictable, but in fairness, it’s fairly well-written. It adheres to the hallmarks of themes in the genre well enough to create a nice little tune with a heartfelt message. The music video is a slideshow of stock photos of sad people with lyrics to the song. I suppose it does the job, and it’s probable that the Reverend isn’t really in it for his image, so it doesn’t really matter how run-of-the-mill the video is.

   It’s a nice song, and he seems like a nice guy. If you really love Gordon Lightfoot, you’ll do yourself well to check this guy out.

[grundvattnet]

Zone 4 (Mu-Tha-F*cka)

Single off of Sides EP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fZWUmnH9Q8 https://jaredwesley.bandcamp.com/track/zone-4-mu-tha-f-cka twitter.com/thejaredwesley instagram.com/thejaredwesley Prod. by Nova Jazz

Jared Wesley - Zone 4 (Mu-Tha-F*cka) Song Review

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/jaredwesley/zone-4-mu-tha-fcka

Grundvattnet doesn’t often focus on hip-hop and rap, but Jared Wesley definitely fits in that underground artist niche that’s so crucial to our DIY sensibilities. Jared Wesley is an up and coming Georgia rapper who has been steadily dropping tracks, one of which is the R&B-inspired song “Zone 4 (Mu-Tha-Fucka)”. Granted, the title sounds like you’re about to get into a grimy gangster rap track, but you’re cheating yourself if you don’t listen to this sick song. Disclaimer: I’m about as white as white gets, and it’s about to become apparent.

The intro admittedly turned me off at first. Jared’s self-introduction is a cliched characteristic of rap songs, and it comes off a little awkward. However, if you just wait 10 seconds, he suddenly goes into an impressive flow that’s relentless but smooth and pleasant to listen to. Jared Wesley has a calm but firm voice, and his confidence shines through without coming across as arrogance. He has the skill to back up what he says. The instrumentals are pure R&B soul, with the drums providing a solid yet fluid foundation for Wesley to spit bars. It’s possible the sax sound is just from a synth, but if it is, it sounds really natural and organic. Nothing feels too out of place, and therefore everything sets Jared Wesley up well to do his thing.

As a white bread geek, I can’t say that I get a lot of the references that Wesley makes throughout the song, and he makes a *lot* of references. Thankfully, it doesn’t really require a comprehensive understanding of all of his allusions to appreciate his style and flow. He’s got this echo at the end of each line in certain sections, which helps create yet another interesting layer in this nuanced song. Jared has a good understanding of dynamics; he’ll start off slow, then slowly build up until he’s going super fast. He doesn’t overdo the fast sections, choosing instead to wisely back off and let the song breathe. What lyrics I can make out seem to be well-done and the sample at the end was a refreshing change of pace, as well as a satisfying conclusion to this track spanning nearly four minutes.

Overall, this is a really solid track. If he could get a rap neophyte such as myself really enjoying the song from start to finish (with the exception of that awkward intro), then I think he’s an artist deserving of a lot more attention. There’s something for all kinds of music lovers here: he has a diverse background of influences, ranging from pop to soul to hip hop. He’s got a killer instrumental track that would be amazing on its own, let alone when serving his excellent delivery of bars. If this song is any indication, Jared Wesley is a musician who more and more people are going to be familiar with in the coming years. I, for one, am more than excited to see where he goes from here.

[grundvattnet]

CollegeKidz42 - Share With The Class Album Review

Listen here: https://collegekidz42.bandcamp.com/releases  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6QKSnO3KlxXqlMP4KEytyEcFrRrOwERf

Fledgling indie punk group CollegeKidz42 is comprised of two college students who split all the instruments between the two of them; Christian Albee plays bass, guitar, and synthesizers in addition to being the primary vocalist, while Jon Hare lays down drums, guitar, and background vocals. Riding the strength of quality from their debut EP “Hit the Book!”, they just recently dropped their first album, “Share With The Class”.

While this album feels more like a jumbled collection of rough cut demos than a final product, I can really see the potential in their original music. I say original music because 6 of the 9 songs are actually covers. Admittedly, this is a big turn off for me, but I’m game. What’s this album like? It’s a commendably decent effort, as long as you ignore the “gotcha!” method of slipping in Christian covers to convert us heathens.  Given that most of the song and album titles have to do with academic themes, it’s only fitting that the first track is entitled “College Kids”, a Relient K cover. As someone who grew up listening to emo-tinged rock bands, I’m gonna have high standards for this one. Unfortunately, the song is very poorly mixed. The instrumentals are way too quiet to fully appreciate. This is a damn shame, since the instrumentals are easily the best part of the whole song. Yeah, it’s not high quality, and there are some audible fuckups here and there, but the drums and guitar would be really fun to listen to if they weren’t mixed so badly and quietly. I get the feeling that Christian really lacks confidence as a singer, since he barely raises his voice above a dull monotone. Listen to the original song, and hear how dynamic and engaging the vocals are, and you’ll see where CollegeKidz42 really missed the mark.

“You, Not I” starts off with a pleasant surprise of a ukulele intro as we start to see what the original side of CollegeKidz42 is capable of. The song is mixed a little better, and the instrumentals, the bass line in particular, is extremely interesting and fun to listen to! The vocals are still fairly lackluster, but are already dramatically improving from “College Kids”. They actually remind me of the band Cheap Haircuts (criminally underrated indie folk punk) on this track a little, especially when they hit the chorus. The synths, vocal harmonies, and intricate bass part add a lot to this song. I just wish the song was faster; as the song goes on, it starts to feel way too slow for this song to shine as much as it could’ve. 

“God Forsaken” is an apt description for the attempt at double bass drum intro to the song. When done right, double bass can elevate a song to the next level. However, when it falls flat, as is the case in this song, the sloppiness distracts the listener from any other more positive attributes that the track may have. The entirely instrumental song goes on for way too long, coming across as a poorly constructed jam session. I will say that the guitar solo 3/4 of the way in is pretty well-done, although it sits very uneasily on top of the mismatched rhythm guitar part. One last word on this song: invest in better distortion pedals.

 The album takes a bizarre turn for the church when we suddenly hit the cover of popular mainstream worship song “At Your Name” by Phil Wickham. Was anyone expecting CollegeKidz42 to suddenly become YouthGroupKidz42 halfway through “Share With The Class”? I sure as hell wasn’t, especially immediately after a song called “God Forsaken”. As far as the instrumentals go, it’s a fairly decent, ukulele-heavy track, although they should’ve had at least some guitar in the background to support the uke lead. Just having bass underlying the ukulele doesn’t suffice here. As for the cover overall...I don’t know, I guess you’d like it if what you wanted to “Share With The Class” was your Bible in one hand and a cross in the other. 

Continuing the Christian pop punk streak with “Those Nights”, CollegeKidz42 perform a song that’s a love letter to bands Hawk Nelson. It’s a pretty repetitive tune, but it’s a harmless, if somewhat toothless, summer love song. They don’t reinvent the wheel here, although that doesn’t mean you can’t tap your foot along to the catchy chorus.

Remember that South Park joke where they just took love songs and tweaked them slightly so they suddenly became worship songs? “Revivify Me” (say that five times fast) is that joke personified. However, truth be told, I actually really like this one. Yeah, it’s a thinly veiled “Come To Jesus” message, but the lyrics are heartfelt here as the singer opens up about depression and struggles he’s dealt with in his life. While the instrumentals aren’t super dynamic, they serve the song well and help make a highlight of the album. Having the bass line at the beginning match the vocal melody was a nice touch as well.

AAAAAAAND we’re back with our regular broadcast of worship covers. “Mighty To Save” is a mainstay of modern worship at churches (I should know, being a former pastor’s kid), and CollegeKidz42 do their best to do a faithful rendition. The hi hats for the drums are mixed too high, so it’s a little painful when the drummer hits any of the cymbals. The problem with the vocals on this album, with this song serving as a particularly strong example, is that they almost feel separate from the rest of the instruments. I almost feel like I’m listening to a guy do a vocal cover, as opposed to a full-fledged band doing their thing. 

A muddled keyboard intro awkwardly overshadows the rest of the band as we listen to “Not Alone”. This is one of the weaker songs on the album, as the singer’s voice grates on the ears with his toneless delivery. The song is mercifully short, but not before that same keyboard melody comes back to end the song. 

“I Surrender All” is the last song on the album, and I gotta say, while it’s a straight up worship song, it’s a pretty excellent conclusion to “Share With the Class”. It actually has a Social Distortion vibe to it, which helped me get into the song. There’s a huge plot twist in the choruses: The singer can sing above a low monotone! It’s a little off-key, granted, but to be honest, it’s so refreshing to hear him going a higher octave that I’m more than willing to excuse the mistakes. It’s a little jarring at first, but as he gets comfortable singing at that register, it becomes a bit of an earworm! I listened to this song a few times and I think they chose a good song to end the album. Keep making music, youth group dudes, just lay off the covers and embrace your original side. 

[grundvattnet]

Ace Lover - All I Ever Wanted (Visual Music Art Video)#7

Ace Lover originally gained notoriety as a teenager on the underground scene in New York City for his individualistic music style & his graffiti tags all ove...

Ace Lover - All I Ever Wanted (Music Video Review)

http://www.aceloverworld.com/

In the search for obscure, underground music, you inevitably find a few stinkers. They’re the nondescript singles and EPs that are put out with no fanfare and no one listens to them. However, sometimes you’re surprised to find a song that has a huge amount of attention. Positive attention, from people unironically enjoying what sounds to you like cliched, melodramatic pop. This is one such example.

Ace Lover is a New York indie artist who has been putting out music for a while now, lucking out with occasional tours and magazine reviews. In addition to being a musician, he is also a fairly prolific artist, painting in a sort of pop art style.  The song featured in this music video, “All I Ever Wanted”, is New Order if you remove the innovative instrumentals and inventive lyrics. What are we left with? A great sounding drum loop carrying a dated synth track, along with Ace Lover’s tired, unimaginative lyrics. What’s frustrating is that the vocal *melody* itself is actually really good, but his vocal *delivery* fucks it up right away. What he attempts to convey as emotional and sincere only comes across as whiny and ineffectual. He sings about love lost with the same level of sincerity as any other pop artist with a staff of writers telling them what focus groups want to hear. There honestly isn’t much more to say about the song itself. 

I do have to give props for the instrumentals! While they can be a little bit repetitive as the song goes on, the drums are simple but catchy, and the synths are very reminiscent of 80′s pop rock. There are some pretty fun moments with the track. I can also appreciate what he’s trying to do with the overall song. The execution of his idea might arguably be DOA, you can tell he’s putting in a lot of effort to emulate dancey art rock groups like New Order and other iconic 80′s bands.

The music video itself is pretty jumbled, but filled with potential. This is a visual art music video, which is  true if you consider visual art to be listening to generic pop and seeing occasional flashes of low-res art. None of the art even remotely relates to the song we’re listening to. We just look at one art piece for a second before it cuts away. I feel like even if he kept the exact same art pieces for the video, hanging on each shot for a few seconds longer would dramatically improve the video, as it would give the audience time to really digest each piece. Every shot only lasts for a moment before cutting to the next, almost as if they’re aware that there’s really nothing of substance in each shot. They clearly attempt quantity over quality here. Maybe if they stuck to one musical and visual aesthetic, they could commit and create something really distinctive, but we don’t get that. Instead, we’re left with a boring video made by an affluent artist who has no emotional connection to what he’s doing. He dances by flailing awkwardly, and poses for the camera with a pout. God save us from generic pop stars and let them stay underground.

I will say that this video is a refreshing alternative to what many such artists usually resort to for videos. Oftentimes, a solo artist will construct a poor plot for the video, and will alternate between actors badly miming the story and the singer lip syncing to the track. Ace Lover chose to forgo that tired cliche and went a more creative route. That absolutely deserves attention and respect. This is an artist who’s really going all in on what he’s doing, even if I don’t particularly love the end result all that much. To each their own! It’ll be worthwhile for you to follow Ace Lover on his journey and seeing what musical directions he goes to from here on out. 

 Allow me to close with a line from his bio on his website. I believe that it really helps drive the point home about who Ace Lover really is to all his fans out there:

“ Ace Lover's been divvelin' and davvelin' celebrity-status style in the New York City scene for a minute.”

Stay divvelin’ and davvelin’, Grundvattnet readers! Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend.

[grundvattnet]

Let The Sun Shine by Kung Fu Jesus

6th song from the new album "The Kantele Tapes" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kantele-Tapes-KUNG-FU-JESUS/dp/B073R2FLRW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503611431&sr=8-1&k...

Let The Sun Shine - Kung Fu Jesus (Music Video Review)

   When you woke up this morning, did you rub the sleep out of your eyes thinking, “Man, I wish I could listen to a guy named Kung Fu Jesus”? Well, baby, you’re in luck! He has a new music video for a song called Let The Sun Shine, and it’s groovy as hell. The song is off the new album The Kantele Tapes.

    While drafting this review, I kept attempting to describe the backstory to this musical adventure, but kept finding myself at a loss. Therefore, here is the description that Kung Fu Jesus himself bestowed unto me:

Kung Fu Jesus, the musical alchemist has returned with the sought after "Kantele Tapes" searching for the mysterious "Celestial Gold". Still working with the one eyed wonder that is Phil O'Shea and the spiky haired pirate Robert "The Accordion" Hamill, KFJ has returned to the magical lands of the other world with his dreamy melody makers. In the echoes of the wind the Great White Wind flows through the lands like a familiar ghostly memory waiting for his time to re-appear and Father Sun communicates from beyond Space-Time. Kung Fu Jesus prepares himself with rigorous martial training waiting for the great day he is free of The Inorganic, the amnesiac Satan has returned to his homelands and KFJ and the Wolf have not spoken in some time. And is this new arrival in the world really The famous Monkey Magic reborn? Who knows? Maybe the music has some answers.

     Okay, I didn’t find any answers in the music, so I don’t understand what the fuck is happening here, but the song itself is pretty great. The attempt at a Coheed and Cambria style of convoluted world-building to provide context for a concept album falls flat. There needs to be more of a commitment to the overall aesthetic and a clear vision of the world to present to the audience. Otherwise, all the world-building in the world (hehe) amounts to nothing but excess fat keeping the listener from enjoying the song fully.

     The visuals appear to just be from semi-relevant anime scenes (ex. if Kung Fu Jesus sings about looking out a window, behold! Cue cute anime girl gazing out the window in her classroom). Admittedly, this is more preferable than a blank screen or a static image of the album cover, but I do wish that this “music video” put more emphasis on the relevance of the video to the music. Unless you share in Kung Fu Jesus’ love of anime, the video might not hold your interest for all that long before you grow tired of seeing random anime characters walk around.

     Nitpicking critiques aside, damn did I enjoy this song. What can I say? I’m a sucker for music that sounds like Noah and the Whale decided to go all indie lofi techno. The drumbeat is super catchy and is an earworm in and of itself, and that’s before the rest of the instruments are introduced. Synths, bass, background vocals, oh my!

    The chorus, replete with hushed vocals and busy instrumentals, could probably play on loop incessantly and I wouldn’t mind. I’d fall asleep to this, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. They really achieve that chill lofi techno vibe with aplomb here. Kung Fu Jesus manages to chop through the risk of being repetitive with this sugary summer pop tune! The song doesn’t really overstay its welcome, provided you like the song. It might not be for everyone, but it’s certainly worth checking out if you always wished Peter Bjorn and John to get really obsessed with anime and start using drum machines and synths.

      If I had to rate this song, it would be three black belts out of five! It’s definitely worth checking out. If you’re interested in checking out more of Kung Fu Jesus, check him out on Spotify at:

https://open.spotify.com/album/3QzQHzH2SzQhJ5t9WILFWH

[grundvattnet]

DED PENGWINZ EP Review

Listen Here:   https://ded-pengwin.bandcamp.com/releases

 From the beginning of preparing for this review, I got the sense that Ded Pengwin is one of the few modern acts that really commit to doing whatever the hell they want, with absolutely no catering or pandering to listeners to create a more accessible sound. Oh I’m sorry, did you want the cookie cutter shapes that bands fit in? Did you want a press kit with extensive background information given on the bandmembers and the band’s history? Sucks to your assmar, Piggy, because they’re going to keep on truckin’ and making music in a deliberately anonymous and obscure environment.

    Okay, to start – I’m pretty sure this is a full fledged band. It’s entirely possible, however, that this is one guy doing his thing in Brisbane, Australia. Your guess is as good as mine. That goes for everything I’m about to attempt to explain about Ded Pengwin. When communicating with whom I believe to be the frontman of the band (the members are all anonymous, so things are gonna get vague from here on out when attempting to delve into specifics), he made it very clear he’s not in it for the fame. At one point, he said the following, which I print with permission from this mystery man:

“we’re kind of averse to fame, to be honest…to hell with that “stardom” bollocks where everyone cares how young, old, tall, short, fat, or thin you are or how many people you’ve bumped nasties with and all that. None of it has anything to do with anything important.”

     Now onto the EP itself. Right from the get go, you’re already challenged and have to work to access it. The name of the EP is The Putrefaction of a Dream, but the album cover has a string of seemingly random symbols. The guy I spoke to, hereafter referred to as Dorothy Grace Hubble (which is what he prefers to only be known as), explained this elaborate process of translating the symbols to reveal the title of the EP. We haven’t even started listening to the goddamn EP yet.

     Onwards we go, venturing into the thick swaths of confusing jungle and labyrinthian music that this listening experience took me through. Got your machete? Let’s hack through vines.

    The Putrefaction of a Dream begins with “Stone Cloud”, a quiet keyboard melody that starts in media res before the rest of the band builds up louder and louder. Fans of psychedelia, garage rock, and art rock will be thrilled with this EP right away. Dorothy sure does have a low, gravely voice! I personally don’t love most of the vocals on this EP, but I can appreciate the vibe he’s going for here. From what I can decipher from the lyrics, there seems to be the garden variety of psychedelic themes that bend your mind and make you want to drop out of school and go to Cali, man. The instrumentals are surprisingly dynamic and keep surprising you with each section. I’m almost getting Black Sabbath Meets Grateful Dead vibes on this song.

       This song moves right along into the next track, entitled “Fly a Plane”. This song gets funky with a drum beat that gets you tapping your foot and lyrics that inspire a lovely mid-morning existential crisis. It wouldn’t be a psychedelic record without surreal choruses and many different instruments! The interludes especially pop with a lush instrumental track. You can hear different keys, audio manipulation, stringed instruments, and more. Dorothy, man, you’re killing me! The lyrics are amazing but the vocals are lacking. “Fly a Plane” is surprisingly brief; they only indulge themselves for as long as they feel necessary before quickly ending the track.

       Keeping up the tradition of never knowing what the hell is going to happen next, “Way Back When” starts off with a simple drum and bass beat that becomes accompanied by…you guessed it! A violin solo. This song screams early Pink Floyd; namely, the era of Syd Barrett being at the helm with albums like Piper at the Gates of Dawn. However, they don’t simply mimic this one specific sound; rather, they explore many genres and sounds, such as afro-funk, classic rock, acid rock, and punk, deftly blending them all into one uniform, utterly unique vibe that’s wholly all their own. If you’re getting bored listening to Ded Pengwin, you’re not really listening.

      Moving along, we happen upon the bass-heavy intro for “Smart Bombs”. Psychedelia goes techno as our lovely Dorothy Grace Hubble continues delivering the lyrics in that gravelly voice. You get lulled into a sense of familiarity and security, but then this huge driving beat comes out of nowhere while a blaring horn rages on. Buckle up, motherfucker, we still got a ways to go.

      Last, but oh certainly not least, we conclude with the aptly titled “Not Another!”. Imagine if you got rick rolled by Satan himself. Got that mental picture? Good, you already have a sense of how unsettling the beginning of this song is. The transition from intro to verse is a stark contrast as we suddenly switch to a slow, brooding track. Feeling comfortable? Well that’s just too bad, cause Dorothy and his band of misfits are kicking things up a notch or twelve shortly. Who knew inaccessible, cerebral acid rock could be so goddamn catchy? This song is the bastard child of Rick Astley and Butthole Surfers.

     I was honestly very sad to realize the EP was over when the last track concluded. The whole of the EP, including its presentation on their Bandcamp, is nothing short of a demented religious experience. It’ll stick with you, whether you like it or hate it. Yeah I didn’t love the vocals, and yes, the songs do start to feel a tad bit formulaic as they go one after another, but you know what? Very few other artists today have the balls to do what Ded Pengwin did on The Putrefaction of a Dream. They dare to have a stellar EP that refuses to compromise in its sound, delivery, and presentation. It’s possible this EP will remain a solitary blip in the sonic atmosphere, but I’m hoping that we’ll get a few more blips from Ded Pengwin. That is, however, if they choose to do so; God knows they’re not gonna do anything out of obligation.

[grundvattnet]

SUBURBAN VERMIN Singles Review

  Check them out here:   http://www.suburbanvermin.com

 Suburban Vermin is an ambitious pop punk trio from Seattle. Their new release, Different Note (featuring the eponymous track, as well as another track entitled Beat on the Breakdown), grabs the listener by the ears and blasts their raucous sound, seemingly without ever taking a breath or pause.

     In both songs, they wear their influences on their sleeves. Fans of New Found Glory and other pop punk groups that are more pop than punk will dig Different Note. Amanda Gamino, the primary vocalist on this track, apes the Cabbage Patch Kid nasal vocal delivery that the genre is notorious for a little too well. The production quality is surprisingly polished for an up and coming band such as Suburban Vermin. While their name might suggest a rougher lofi sound, they commit to the typical polished sound that pop punk groups like Blink 182 and Green Day are known for. This song does not reinvent the wheel by any means, as Different Note imitates the cliches of the genre with faithful steadfastness. However, this does not diminish the quality and fun to be had with the song. It has a driving beat with the drums and palm muted guitars under melodic guitar solos. You can’t help but tap your fingers to the beat and hum the melody as the song goes on. I just wish the song didn’t end so suddenly; right as I started to really get into the song and got excited about where it would go from here, the band rings out one final note and fades out. 

      Beat on the Breakdown made me check to make sure I wasn’t listening to an old, undiscovered Green Day song from the Nimrod era. A bright, over driven guitar bursts out as the bass patiently plucks along. A drum roll that Tre Cool would be proud of brings the whole band in. This song feels much more raw and bold than the previous track, which is a welcome shift in tone. I also feel that Jason Vermin’s true singing voice comes through in here. While it still feels very quintessentially pop punk cliche in nature, he seems to be playing to his strengths and singing how he naturally would. This really helps me enjoy lines like “This city’s fucking dead!” because I’m not distracted by gimmicky vocal deliveries. And ah, who can resist nostalgic pop punk themes that have been a mainstay of the genre? He hates his hometown and wants to leave. We’ve all been there. God knows I’ve been there. The instrumentals get a little more dynamic and creative on this track, with sudden stops and fun drum fills that get everybody excited for what’s next. The chorus has these backup vocals supporting Jason and it feels very punk! I found myself wanting to sing along. This must be a popular song for them to play live. I appreciate that, while this is certainly a song for crowds to sing along to at shows, they resisted the urge to lazily construct some simple chorus that’s blatantly only there for drunk people to easily sing back at them during shows. While one could certainly argue that this song also struggles with the aforementioned issue of sounding like a copy of established pop punk groups, I think this song really feels closer to what their sound is. Not only does the whole band seem very comfortable with Beat on the Breakdown, they’re clearly enjoying themselves, which translates well to the listener, resulting in a really fun, if somewhat formulaic, track.

     So overall, I’d recommend Suburban Vermin to any and all pop punk enthusiasts! Just one look at their website (the link to which is provided above) and you can see how ambitious they are. They have a surprisingly huge amount of merch available, and even a whole comic series called TV Head Nation. While I worry that this risks becoming a strategy of quantity over quality, wherein they spread themselves too thin to focus on music, which should be the primary focus, I can’t help but admire their chutzpah in trying to offer something for everybody. If you want to feel like you’re back in middle school blasting your favorite pop punk tunes, but want something other than the same ‘ol bands, definitely check out Suburban Vermin!