The Most Definitely » The Most Definitely | » pop punk

Champagne for my Real Friends, Real Pain for my Sham Friends

Felipe — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 16:54:58 +0000

Some times it’s really important to have a few FU jams queued up in your playlist. There’s always an occasion to rage out on your boss, an ex, or even some dude who, while you were holding the subway pole, “accidentally” slides his hand down and rests it on your firmly pole-gripped hand. No reaction, no hand adjustment, nada. Just standing there like a payaso, pretending like something else besides another human hand stopped his from continuing to slide down the pole. Or maybe he thinks YOU’RE the a**hole, ya know, sliding your hand UP to rest it under his, and HE’S the polite one, not saying anything… :-/ Come one dude..! I’m not an X-Men with super feeling… I KNOW you feel my hand too… I hate you and everything you stand for. You’re somehow worse than the non-headphone-wearing, rush-hour subway riding loud-music-player, as if he’s not in a crowded subway, but instead, sitting on the toilet at home all by himself. Except we’re all in the bathroom with him listening to shitty trap music on a shitty LG phone. Day = ruined.

Luckily the pop-punk world is laden with grief-stricken, pissed off, angst-riddled millennials (“No one will ever understand me and what I’m going through!”) with lots of time of their hands to write me songs to get through the hatred I have for every person I encounter on the morning commute to work. This week we will explore a few of these pissed-off youngsters.

The Story So Far, a California quintet who got their start back in 2007, and are one of several bands that take their name from a New Found Glory title (see: All Time Low) and they write fun and angsty songs to get you riled up (a much better version of Knuckle Puck). With Confidence are an Australian quartet from Sydney, with much more subdued, classic pop-punk stylings. One fast song. One slow song.

Pop Punk week for me on FSL/TMD

Boston Manor guide to life: Be Nothing.

Felipe — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 16:27:25 +0000

Previously covered in February, the Blackpool five-piece is back at it again, out with their debut LP. I’m not gonna lie, there’s a really good chance I’ve been listening to this album nonstop over the last two weeks. Is it the best album of 2016? I wouldn’t go that far given that 2016 has been a great tunes year. Now, is it the best “first” album I’ve heard this year? Hmm… that’s a way better question for sure. I’d have to say it’s probably between them and Trash Boat for best first album of 2016 (maybe even The Sun Days?). And given that Boston Manor are really only just getting started (Trash Boat’s been at it a while), this is a sign of great things to come. Oh ya, have I mentioned the UK is making all the best tunes these days? I can’t remember… That said, Blackpool, sadly, is not the diversity sidekick or little brother of Marvel’s anti-hero Deadpool, it’s a touristy seaside town just north of Liverpool. The Tangerines (as they are known because of their soccer team) and their town became fashionable in the middle of the 18th century (that’s 1700s for you math majors), as the practice of “sea bathing” to cure diseases was in full swing (swimming in the ocean and drinking sea water cured you of diseases back then). These wealthier folk, who also realized not smelling terrible was kinda cool, would trek to Blackpool to “get cured” of whatever nasty diseases they got living in 1700s London. As they continued travelling to and fro, pop-up services started appearing, because well, one needs certain amenities in order to maintain a certain lifestyle. Therein came the birth of Blackpool, as hotels, bowling greens, archery stalls, and holiday cottages started popping up, eventually capped off with the arrival of the railway. Still heavily dependent on tourism to this day, Blackpool has all sorts of (what seem to be) cool stuff (don’t quote me, I’ve never been), and is sometimes referred to as the “gay capital of the North” (I’ve never been, I swear :-/), with Brighton being the gay capital of the South. Being a cultural hub, and that this is supposed to be about Boston Manor, it’s no coincidence that Blackpool hosts the world’s largest punk festival every year, Rebellion Festival, a four day collection of over 200 bands. Much like Coachella, 2017 presale tickets are already sold out. Godspeed.

Feli Says Be Nothing all wknd

#9ad1d7

Can Trash Boat be the Junk Boat of UK Punk?

Felipe — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 14:00:40 +0000

Just another killer band in the burgeoning UK punk scene? I think not! A Trash Boat, not to be confused (yet) with junk boats (above), which can be found cruising through Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, is a group of 5 young squires from Saint Albans, UK who got together in 2014 and immediately started making waves (boat pun intended). They put out a sweet EP quickly in 2014 called Brainwork, won some random music festival contest thingies, and just now put out their debut full length, and it’s really good. So good actually, that Dan “Soupy” Campell (ya, that’s the dude’s real nickname) from The Wonder Years decided he’d dip his hand in the producing jar. And so their album Nothing I Write You Can Change What You’ve Been Through is also his debut album as producer. Hopeless Records (their label) out of Van Nuys, CA has not so quietly been gathering up all the top UK bands (Trash Boat, Neck Deep, Moose Blood, ROAM) along with some killer stateside bands (The Wonder Years, Have Mercy, NFG, Sum41 – ya they are still around too and aren’t bad live, just saw them at Warped Tour… yes I went :-/ ).

Anyways, all of this was just a way to get to talking about junk boats and how awesome they are (and how they relate to Trash Boat). Junks trace their roots back to 2nd century AD China where they were efficient and sturdy ships (obvi since they are still around today) that traveled long distances and incorporated lots of technical advances in sail plan and hull design that were later adopted in Western shipbuilding. Cool right? Even Ben Franklin urged US shipbuilders to take ideas from junks for our own boats. They continued dominating the seas even in the 15th century with Zheng He’s treasure ship’s that were over 390 feet long. In comparison, Christopher Columbus’s ships (same century, remember?) were only about 85 feet long. Basically, junk boats are dope and were used abundantly for almost two millennia. I’m hard pressed to think of something else of such worldwide technical importance (used modern free-flooding design where the hull would auto ballast water in and out to cushion shock and reduce pitching).

So can Trash Boat be the Junk Boat of the UK punk scene? I’m sure they hope so, and they are off to a helluva a start. But for right now they are just trash (and my treasure). Maybe one day, if they work real hard, they can be considered junk. Wouldn’t that be something.

Feli Says Trash Boat isn’t Trash at all

Spring King-Rectifier

Ashley — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 16:00:38 +0000

Dynamic and unapologetic pop punk that makes you feel ALIVE is what Spring King does best. If their name sounds familiar, perhaps it’s because they were the inaugural band to be played on Apple’s Beats 1 radio with their song, “City” when the station launched on June 30, 2015. Since that fateful moment, the Manchester quartet have continued to see their hard work pay off. They released two more singles, “They’re Coming After You” and “Who Are You?“, signed to Island Records, and very recently came out with their latest offering, “Rectifier.”

Their newest song is an amalgam of rambunctious, high intensity garage pop mixed with roaring beats and memorable lyrics. When I first heard it, I felt like my natural reaction was to break into spontaneous dance moves. It is immediately catchy, and manages to pull you in completely by the time the chorus hits. Attempts at not dancing around while listening to this song will be futile.

Spring King are currently on tour in the U.K. (go check ’em out and make me extremely jealous by telling me how amazing their live set is). They’ll be playing some shows over the summer alongside Wolf Alice and Kaiser Chiefs. Check out “Rectifier” below, and make sure your volume is turned up loud enough so that everyone around you can fully enjoy this monumental song.

WSTR: it’s pronounced WASTER, ugh

Felipe — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 15:30:07 +0000

The UK is crushing the US these days in terms of pop punk. If any of you are friends with me, then you’ve heard me yapping about Neck Deep (sick Welsh band). Well now it’s time to yap about WSTR. The Liverpool pop punk quintet are on the verge of making big splashes in 2016 (think moving from the kiddie pool to the big boy wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon in Orlando – or Blizzard Beach if you’re in to that sort of thing). Although all they’ve got is an EP, they sound like they’ve been together for way longer than they actually have (its only been like 5 months). And I know what you’re gonna say… “they sound just like Neck Deep’s 2014 album “Wishful Thinking” and that just makes them a bunch of copycats.” Ughh, ya it does, which is awesome (if you’re gonna copy, copy the best), but also makes sense since they are all friends and even recorded their EP in the UK with Ben Barlow’s (of Neck Deep’s) brother. When asked what they feel makes a good pop-punk record, they said: “Fast and loud with relatable lyrics and sing-alongs;” check, check and check! Oh ya, they got signed before ever doing anything real to No Sleep Records, a legit rock label who rep The Wonder Years, Balance & Composure, La Dispute, Looming, etc. So ya. Anyways, they’re on repeat these days. (ps – big ups to the Limp Bizkit hoodie)

Feli Says Pop Punk Will Never Die

State Champs: Around the World and Back LP

Felipe — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 22:49:23 +0000

Albany boys, State Champs, are super f-ing fun. The 5-some have been kicking a$$ for a few years now, and are back at with their third(ish) full length, “Around the World and Back.” The latest album grows up from their formative years – to be expected though, right? As you grow up you write less about murdering ex-girlfriends and silly tween sh*t (a la A Day To Remember, and they’re totally crushing right now) – but haters always gonna hate. It’s still a great time, and their live show is getting more and more raucous, especially, because as mentioned, they are “super f-ing fun.” Saw them back to back nights when they passed through NYC a couple weeks ago, a stark difference from last year when they were converting arms-crossed-head-nodders in to crowd surfing fire starters. Now it’s REAL rowdy and lively. Sadly we don’t live in Australia/Japan/UK when they tour with Neck Deep…. ugh

Feli Says Listen to these choice tracks!

Neck Deep – Life’s Not Out To Get You LP

Felipe — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 14:46:33 +0000

“Do you intertwine cult favorite movies with classic emo/pop punk themes?” – Umm… Duh Dufus! Just listen to Kali Ma where we reference the shit out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. “Well fine then, do you take solid pop punk stylings from Blink 182, New Found Glory, Rufio, and other gems while making them your own with clever lyrics and super catchy hooks?” – Obvi! Have you even listened to our music!? Jeez Louise… This Welsh 5-piece has been crushing the pop punk scene since they got started in 2012, won the Best British Newcomer award in 2014, and their new album further solidifies their awesomeness – an instant pop punk classic. Neck Deep’s new LP was produced by ADTR’s Jeremy McKinnon, has a 91 on Metacritic, and is just all around dope. If you don’t believe me just click below… It’s ok to be proven wrong sometimes. ;-)

All those Spotify listens..? That’s just me. #wwfs