Review Summary: Super.....sometimes
Super Sometimes are a rising pop-punk trio who’ve been gaining traction thanks to their earworm hooks, dual-attack vocals, and VERY intentional early-2000s throwback energy. They built their following on energetic singles, fun live shows, very much throwing it back to that Warped Tour era. And now they’re back with their sophomore album,
Show The World What’s Underneath.
I checked this album out because of the lead single and opener
“Afterthought” and let me tell you—this thing is a straight-up pop punk banger. It’s your pop punk summer anthem 100%. The interplay between the two vocalists is killer, you get those little cracks and strains in the vocals that add just the right amount of realness, and the guitar work is loaded with energetic riffs and tasty little licks. The chorus is a earworm. Honestly, maybe it’s my nostalgia cortex being aggressively massaged, but I can’t imagine anyone who likes pop punk not loving this track. A total bop and easily the highlight of the record.
Unfortunately the rest of the album never quite reaches that high again. But to be fair, it’s still a solid outing for the genre. Across the record you get plenty of classic themes of coming of age angst, being young and making mistakes, being true to your self and so on. The two vocalists have great chemistry with some nice harmonies, the choruses are bouncy, and the riffing borrows heavily from those State Champs-style stop/start rhythm.
Co-frontman Dylan Guzman especially wears his influences loudly—he’s doing his best Mark Hoppus impression. Like, if you downloaded this off Limewire in 2001, you’d think you stumbled onto a lost blink-182 demo. When he sings
“every time you look for me” on
“Learned My Lesson” it is uncannily close to
“Every Time I look For You” from Blink—definitely intentional, and definitely indicative of how much this band wears their heroes on their sleeves.
And I guess that’s part of the charm. It’s rare you get some straight up pop punk straight from the skate park like this these days, without any sort of crossover into emo or hardcore or any other genre influences, this is pure pop punk that’d fit in between Blink and Sum 41 on an early 2000s playlist.
The back end actually has a few of the stronger tracks outside the opener.
“Common Place” is an enjoyable acoustic number that’s perfect for summer evenings.
Medicine is a more lively number before closer
Prophet which strikes a more snarky , defiant, fingers up tone to end the album.
Look- this album is nothing complex, heavy, or through provoking. It taps into the nostalgia part of the brain that longs for Tony Hawks Pro Skater era ***. It combines the DNA of the early 2000s and 2010s pop punk eras. I would like to see if the band can do more to create their own identity rather than relying on nostalgia, that’ll be key to see if these guys can go the distance of just be a flash in the pan. The Opener track is a hit and essential for anyone into pop punk, the rest…… your millage will vary.
