Is Pop Punk Good Now? - Bandcamp Explorer

  by Mark Rowland

published: 8 / 11 / 2022

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Apparently, pop punk is having a bit of a resurgence. Pop stars such as Olivia Rodrigo and Machine Gun Kelly have turned to the genre for better or worse (in the latter’s case, definitely worse. On the other hand, artists such as Jeff Rosenstock and PUP take the trappings of pop punk and lay them onto a foundation of classic songwriting. Pop punk is not my genre. Sure, I grew up during its peak, so I wasn’t immune to it in my teens, but I grew out of it fairly swiftly. It is very much a teen genre, more than classic punk, and any high points within the genre were drowned out by hundreds of identical bands as the 90s came to a close. But I’m always up for trying to find the good in any genre, and I like The Muffs, so let’s see what we can find. The first thing I find is Bug Bath from Reno Nevada, whose album, ‘Bug Bath,’ probably skews as much indie rock as it does pop punk. It’s got a bit of a slacker edge to it in places, but songs such as ‘All Over You’ has plenty of pop energy and great harmonies. That song in particular is a highlight, as is ‘Closer 2 U’, ‘Coward Song’ and ‘When I Wanted U’. Would I prefer that they spelled ‘you’ correctly? Yes. Japan’s Piggies are a purer pop punk proposition. The band formed in 1997, so dates back to the genre’s heyday, and they clearly know how to write a pop song. …’And Now’! is wall-to-wall sugary harmonies and Ramones-level tempos. At a mere six tracks, it flits in and out in less than 15 minutes. It’s all you need, and it leaves you with a smile on your face. Fresh, from London (UK) have been growing a solid audience with its infectious and energetic live shows. Its latest, ‘Raise Hell,’ continues to build on its umpteen previous releases, with increased use of keyboards alongside the guitars. Single ‘Morgan & Joanne’ is great. ‘Babyface’, ‘Going To Bed’, ‘Fuck Up’ and ‘Deer in The Headlights’ are also great. It also slows down from time to time, which is welcome. If I had any criticism of the band, it’s that the lyrics are a little on the nose at times, but that’s a common feature of pop punk. The shambling tunefulness of Naumberg, Germany’s Not the Ones gives them a more classic punk feel to other bands on this list. They are a more straightforward proposition than The Slits or The Raincoats, but are kindred spirits in vibe and attitude. Try out opener ‘On the Chin’ from their recent album ‘All Cut Up’ to find out if it’s for you. Merging pop punk and alt country, Olympia, Washington’s Pigeon Pit share some DNA with bands like AJJ, but the country instrumentation does take them enough away from folk punk to be their own thing. At times, such as on ‘love letters’ the opening track on feather river canyon blues, the band shuffle along at a breathless pace, but at others, such as on the same album’s ‘fire engine’, Pigeon Pit gives the songs a bit more room to breathe. I’m sure plenty of people will argue against this being classified as pop punk, but it’s classified as pop punk on Bandcamp, so that argument, as far as I’m concerned, is invalid. Finally, we have the band, August Is Falling, who have been building a sudden buzz on YouTube over the past week or so with their EP ‘The Simple Plan’ (perhaps due to its connection to certain Philadelphia-based musicians with a YouTube presence). To an extent, the band sounds like it’s dumbing itself down somewhat to meet the expectations of the genre – to the point of parody in places – but at the same time, the songs are genuinely well constructed and catchy. ‘The Simple Plan’ and ‘BTGG’ in particular stand out. Final aside outside of the genre focus this month: we’ve had our first actual submission (more of this please – you have no idea how much time I spend digging through Bandcamp). Paul Garside’s ‘Idiots of Love’ is a gorgeous psych folk album; the opener and title track immediately brings to mind Nick Drake with its languid pace and busy, pretty, piano. It doesn’t stay in that lane, however. Strings dominate ‘Discount Dracula’, while ‘All the Dirt in the World’ is all twangy folk rock. ‘Silver Seas’ is a pacier piano piece, and it’s followed with some lovely finger picking on ‘Brandon Sang Harmony’. After wading knee deep through Bandcamp’s pop punk offering, it’s a welcome change of pace.

Also In Bandcamp Explorer

Article Links:-

https://bugbath.bandcamp.com/
https://bloatedkatrecords.bandcamp.com
https://freshpunks.bandcamp.com
https://nottheones.bandcamp.com/
https://pigeonpit.bandcamp.com/
https://augustisfalling.bandcamp.com/

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