Various - Pop Punk's Not Dead

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 5 / 4 / 2007

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Review

‘Pop Punk’s Not Dead’ is a last ditch effort to prove the title is true by parading some of the best bands of the said genre. While there are no bigger names on this record, there are many echoes of the influence that some of the founding and most popular bands of the genre have created. The album features bands from all over the world. It could have well been named 'Two Minutes, Three chords, Four Corners of the World'. For those not familiar with ‘Pop-Punk’ it is basically melodic punk music and is simple, usually quite fast, very cheery and fun. While many old school punk rockers and hardcore fans alike despise this genre for the way it has taken one very important genre and washed it down and made it appeal to the masses rather than the few, there is no denying that it is above all fun music. While we often think of bands like Blink 182, NOFX, New Glory, Sugarcult, Good Charlotte as pop punk acts, it would be wrong to write it off as a purely modern thing. How could one not recognise ‘Teenage Kicks’ by the Undertones as pop punk ? It has mass pop appeal to the point that 25 or so years later it is still around and will still fill a dance hall wherever it may be played. To write the genre off as something the younger folk of the world have messed up is, therefore, just plain wrong. One great thing about pop punk and the vast majority of its bands is that there is very, very little room for pretentiousness or taking life too seriously. It opens with ‘So Cool’ by Teenage Bottlerocket from Wyoming, USA. It is a perfect way to start of an album, being a cheery number about someone’s girlfriend, and bounces along happily like an escaping space hopper. It is impossible not to smile. The Queers who are one of the more established bands on this record carry on the same vein with their track 'Definitely'. The sounds are just a chirpy, but this is more a tale of woe than happiness. Janez Detd who contribute ‘Anti-Anthem’ to this compilation sound similar to early Finch and Saves the Day, and have just a snippet of Blink 182 too. They could have had similar success and recognition, but rather than being from the sun soaked USA, they hail from Grembergen in Belgium. I am unaware of many Belgian bands, other than Soulwax, but these guys give us what I believe is the finest song on the album, with one of the fastest, yet controlled songs on the record They have the sound of a sunny summer's day where all that matters is having fun, which is the perfect way to enjoy this type of music. Richmond, Virginia’s River City High have a raspier, more old school punk vocal style and sound a little like a rough-around-the-edges Ataris in their earlier days. Australian female fronted The Spazzys have a wonderfully catchy sound on 'Hey Hey Baby' which sounds just about perfect with its easy to pick up chorus and fantasic vocal harmonies and Beach Boys-esque “Eeeee oooo’s” (Yes, that is a word. I looked it up). While it is impossible not to think of sunny American teen movies and a general feeling of Californian-ness when listening to this type of music, it was great to hear from bands from all over the world, like Boris the Sprinkler form Dortmund, Germany, the Dazes from Japan, and the Travoltas from the Netherlands. While 18 out of the 30 bands on here are from the States, it doesn’t seem to make a difference where the bands are from with the regard to the quality of the tunes. You would be hard pushed in most cases to pick where the bands are from. I have to mention, however, the fantastic Suckerbox and their Green Day circa 1994 influenced ‘Wrong’ as they come from George Town in the Caymen Islands. I have never heard of a band from that part of the world. I think it is great that Go-Kart have managed to put together such an international collection, rather than having 90% American bands with a few from Canada, two from England and one from Germany. This really is an international group of acts and it is great to see so many quality songs here. I was expecting this album to become tedious quite fast, but at no point did it. Dave Parasite, who compiled this record, was spot on the money when he came up with the title. It is certainly not dead and evidently is breeding and taking over the world. I know I will be checking out the pop punk scene next time I’m in the Caymen Islands.

Track Listing:-

1 Teenage Bottlerocket- So Cool
2 The Scissors- 24
3 The Manges- Another Day
4 The Unlovables- I've Cried 4 U
5 The Ergs- Aja
6 The Queers- Definitely [Remastered]
7 The Unknown- Seven
8 Suckerbox- Wrong
9 The Last Chucks- Do You Ever
10 Backseat Virgins- Can't Take It
11 Squirtgun- Model Builder
12 Mach Pelican- Spend My Time
13 The Leftovers- Camel
14 The Dazes- You Really Got Me Now
15 Delay- Jumpstart My Heart
16 The Copyrights- Stuck In Springtime
17 Five O's- Last Summer
18 Janez Detd- Anti Anthem
19 River City High- Amy
20 The Spazzys- Hey Hey Baby
21 Boris The Sprinkler- Buying Beer For Junior High School Students
22 Sonic Dolls- In Case You're Unaware
23 The Peabodys-It Only Hurts When I Think
24 Guff- Change
25 The Spinoffs- Dynamite Girl
26 The Steinways- I Wanna Kiss You (On The Lips)
27 Bambix- Little Less Drunk
28 The Wimpys- Just Right Thing In Summer
29 Travoltas- Can't Stop
30 Parasites- When I'm Here With You