Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

they were pretty good live even if they're butthurt douchebags

yea

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

why is pretence spelled wrong?

Might check this but them getting anal about the pronunciation of their name is putting me off.

Album Rating: 4.0

This album opens in the most absolutely kick-ass way. It rules...although it would be nice if they could take a joke (though hopefully they've moved past that?)

Album Rating: 3.5

new single is pretty disappointing

new album is great.

Album Rating: 3.5

[2] I really liked it. Green Eyes might be their best song to date

> JayEnder
Yes they haven't changed that much. the result is so convincing that it makes me think it is pretty good even if they remain the same.

Album Rating: 3.5

I'm loving this band right now



new album is probably their most consistent overall, but the highlights aren't quite as strong imo. hard to beat songs like "Wait" or "Pretense"

Album Rating: 4.5

band is so good

Album Rating: 4.5

God Pretense is sooooooooooo good

Untitled absolutely fucking rules

Album Rating: 3.5

Easily their best album yea

Album Rating: 3.5

Still can't believe aggregate sites often rate SHAPESHIFTER right alongside this - this is miles better imo.

2014 - 2016 was a good run for pop punk man.

Album Rating: 3.5

tec likes knuckle puck what da hell

Album Rating: 3.5

tec likes knuckle puck*

*only up to and including COPACETIC.

i used to be a full-fledged pop-punker before i became self-conscious and turned into a pretentious dick.

i think THROUGH BEING COOL was the first album i bought with my own money. still cherish that album to this very day. (and pretty much everything Saves the Day did through IN REVERIE.)

2014-2016 gave us: COPACETIC, OH COMMON LIFE, NO CLOSER TO HEAVEN, LIFE'S NOT OUT TO GET YOU, WORRY, NEVER HUNGOVER AGAIN, RENTED WORLD, COLOUR BLIND, STORY SO FAR...

pop-punkers were eatin' then, baby.

i dunno what happened, if i "grew up" (eye roll) or if the scene really changed that much, but i've struggled to find a pop-punk album post-2016 that hits me the same way those did. still rock the classics though. NFG s/t and SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT and GODDAMNIT and JERSEY'S BEST DANCERS ands DUDE RANCH and MAKE YOURSELF SICK etc etc.

Album Rating: 3.5

Hell yeah man, good calls. I gave Through Being Cool a shot bc of your review and it fuckin rules. Stay What You Are too. Lifes Not Out to Get You always connects with 16 yr old me. Too bad Neck Deep and Knuckle Puck fell off HARD.



Also "before i became self-conscious and turned into a pretentious dick." lol you're a cool guy tec but some of your ratings make me wanna shake my fist at you

Album Rating: 3.5

'but some of your ratings make me wanna shake my fist at you'

Understandable. Some of them want to make me shake my fist at myself.



Glad I indirectly got you to check THROUGH BEING COOL and even more glad you liked it. It's one of the distressingly few emo-heavy pop-punk releases that withstood the test of time for me. And that probably has more to do with my personal relationship to it than the album itself, but I do think it contains an interesting and unique blend of poppiness and that harder/sloppier melodic hardcore style (à la Lifetime, Jawbreaker) that sets it apart from so many others.



The problem is that these types of bands don't have a lot of longevity. They release a killer album because it makes sense at that particular time in both *their* lives, *and* yours. As the bands get older, the magic wanes. Singing and whining about the same things when you're 40 and you were when you were 19 just feels disingenuous. And the bands that realize this and drastically change their approach/style often miss the mark completely and end up either trending toward homogeneity or embracing a new sound that doesn't scratch any itch you might have. (The notable exception here, imo, is Brand New; say what you want about them or their music.)



That's why if I had to name my single favorite "pop punk" band, or at least pick one that's been the most consistent over the longest period of time, I'd be tempted to say Alkaline Trio. Their slightly morbid/gothic aesthetic (tonally and lyrically) meant it was a style they could never truly outgrow, at least not in the sense that it would ever like a bunch of old dudes reminiscing about high school. The obvious complaint there is that "they never evolved and all their albums sound the same" which, to some extent, isn't *wrong*. But if you dig their original sound/vibe, then it's varied enough to provide a careers-worth of head boppers and toe tappers about kissing clavicles and dying alone in the snow.

Album Rating: 3.5

woke up today and decided i wanted to talk about pop punk i guess