Superchunnnnkkkk! It’s been almost a decade since the last release from these Chapel Hill indie power poppers, but they’re back, and still sounding young as ever (the bandmates are all 40+, not that you would EVER guess from this record). Pop punk, skate punk, old school emo, whatever you want to call it, these guys have been on top of it since 1989. Fast, catchy, riffy, energetic bright power pop backing the by-now-trademarked nasal emo whine. These guys have always had a fireflies-and-red-plastic-cups neighbourhoody sound. You just want them to play your house party. RIYL: Against Me!, The Get Up Kids, Ghost Town Trio (ha, fuck yeah), or, hell, The Thermals.

try: 7, 2, 1
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*1. ~4 sec gear up. rocky uptempo classicky pop. ‘whoa oh oh’s. at times, sounds superficially similar to “rock n roll love letter”.
*2. happy & fast. jagged guitar-to-guitar callback riff. a melody like elliott smith on meth (seriously, imagine it at half speed). ‘oh, my gap feels weird’?!
3. easy rocky midtempo beat. cute, sweet, swing-sway serenadey. reminds me of soul asylum.
4. zaggy guitar. strutty, strokes-y rudder strum. bright chorus: ‘don’t touch me, i’ve got crossed wires.’
5. fast, muddy, punky. cute round-style harmonies and a classico guitar solo. the soul brother to yellowcard’s “ocean avenue”.
6. easy, laid back tempo. slightly fuzzy guitar. strings! the melody in the chorus is lovely.
*7. uptempo west coast anthem if ever. here’s a great chorus and a great riff, and these guys know it. if the true art of pop punk is saying a lot with a little, this song nails it: ‘i can’t hold my breath anymore; i stopped swimming and learned to surf.’
8. chill midtempo. jagged chord riff. “ooh”s. big bass drum and surprisingly melodic power chords. nice chorus melody that comes out of nowhere.
9. supafast jumpy frenetic dancey rocker... with a totally together chorus. the lyrics could be callouts. it’s all over very, very quickly.
10. slightly downtempo, deliberate edgy rock. thin and precise. sweet high-reg melody. electric guitar takeover for the last minute or so.
11. slightly ambient intro. fuzzy & fast closer. warbly “ooh”s. if this isn’t the sound of suburbia at night... well, a lot of parallels to jimmy eat world here, to say the least.