Review Summary: I wanna love you enough to leave you alone
Can somebody PLEASE tell me where these guys came from? Super Whatevr have only been on my radar for about a year or so now, but have managed to put out a splendid EP and now an absolute masterclass of an album.
Never Nothing is chock-full of all kinds of tricks up its sleeves. From the multiple sweet and energetic guitar riffs right down to the quirky vocal inflections of frontman Skyler McKee. It might be too early to really say, but I’ll be damned if this isn’t one of the strongest contenders for top ten emo albums of the last five years.
The first question that needs to be asked here is where their lead vocalist learned to sing. Skyler’s voice adds bucket loads of charm and personality to literally every song here. The high-on-caffeine tone and youthful performance put on display here truly makes each track unique from Super Whatevr’s peers. In songs like “Bloomfield” and “For You”, you can practically see him jumping around and spazzing out by listening alone. His more toned down performances in songs like “Katherin with a K” and “Telelelevision” also work beautifully, fully fleshing out a mood and sticking through it until the end. Sure the lyrics are nothing to gawk out, some cringey even, but Skyler’s eccentricity in his delivery of them makes each word a delight to listen to.
The instrumentation is filled to the brim with flourishes that combine together to create pure, unrefined ear candy. The bass lines found here are groovy as all hell. The guitars are varied front to back and can change up a song drastically if you’re not paying attention. The tone Super Whatevr manages to use throughout the album is so crisp and sweet sounding, it’s hard not to smile while listening to it. This is not your typical emo affair per se. The sound presented here is refreshing and unique, occupying its own space. Super Whatevr have most definitely cut out a style here that’s all them.
For a debut album,
Never Nothing is confident in its ambitions. They try many ideas, throwing every trick and technique they have to the wall. I’m extremely happy to say that just about all of it stuck. What was crafted here is a delectable emo album and a great January release to start off the year.
