Review Summary: Pop-Punk how it’s supposed to be
408. a 4 piece pop-punk group from Orlando, FL came to my attention through one of those mindless scrolls one night through the minefield that is TikTok and it immediately took my attention. It was the song ‘We Don’t Get High Like We Used To’. It reminded me of simpler times when this style of music dominated all facets of my life when l was a teenager trying to navigate my way in the world.
Members Mark Faroudi who handles vocal and bass duties has a great, gruff voice that suits this style perfectly. Nick Roque and Nick Hanus also handle vocal duties along with creating a nice soundscape of simple and catchy riffs. Both Nick’s contribute vocally with nice, clean and easy on the ear voices which will obviously bring comparisons to blink-182. Hanus with the clean. pop-punk perfect voice while Roque has a higher voice utilising his falsetto. Jake Cerretani on drums also plays his part with a performance that draws in the ear. ‘againagainagain’ a highlight of the drumming.
‘Generational’ kicks off the album with a distinctive pop-punk sound along with an electronical element in the post-chorus. ‘College Kids’ follows the trend but album highlight ‘We Don’t Get High Like We Used To’ really excels with a catchy chorus and the vocals shining through from all 3 singers combining to create an earworm that will get stuck in your head. The different vocal styles of the three voices gives the band a natural variation that is always welcome. ‘againagainagain’ lyrically talks about heartache and that’s a topic that is as pop-punk as pizza and skating. ‘’you said that he’s just your best friend, I’m not buying it, liar-liar, just a heart for hire’’ Lyrical themes explored on this include first love, loss, memories of first shows, college and coming of age. Nothing new for the genre but it doesn’t distract from the music as a whole.
408 are a band that have utilised social media, especially TikTok to create a widespread fanbase that has seen them bring in over 400,000 Spotify listeners. And that was not on accident. This is a musically tight band that plays pop-punk music as it should be - A hell of a lot of fun.
