Given what a bad secret Kryye's true identity is, you may be wondering why I would bother to review a fake band. I'm personally more inclined to describe Kryye as an "imaginary" band, but perhaps that's splitting hairs. So yeah, if your enjoyment of Kryye was entirely contingent on the band actually being bright-eyed young whippersnappers from South Africa who somehow possess vast knowledge of generally obscure music released on another continent before they were even born, I get it. But if you liked the first Kryye album simply because it was a banging pop-punk record, you're going to like the second one (out now on Hey Pizza! Records) even more.
Whether Kryye's social media presence constituted nefarious catfishing or was merely an extraordinarily above-and-beyond commitment to the fine art of kayfabe is a matter of opinion. But for me, the knowledge that the purported band members are completely fictional may have even deepened my appreciation for Kryye. I get what's going on with this new album, Kollektief. It's a supreme '90s pop-punk love fest. The band may not be real, but the music most definitely is (with, granted, vocal production straight out of the Dave Seville playbook). Obviously we're talking about an artist here whose bona fides within the pop-punk scene are well established. He knows how to write a simple and catchy pop-punk tune. And if it sometimes seems like he's re-writing the same song over and over, that's probably the point. This album is loaded with '90s pop-punk Easter eggs, with winks and nods to the likes of Teen Idols and Beatnik Termites and direct references to a number of Lookout! Records staples. So basically this is a record for '90s pop-punk super-fans made by a '90s pop-punk super-fan. If the intended illusion here is that there are people half our age who feel the same way about this music as we do, I understand the angle. Most of these songs clock in under two minutes and quickly worm their way into your skull. The lyrics tread tried-and-true territory for the pop-punk genre but are genuinely clever and in many cases quite hilarious. I understand that not everyone will be amused. But if you held on to your copy of Girl You Know It's True back in 1990 when everyone else was trashing theirs because, you know, killer tunes are killer tunes, you might be open to appreciating Kollektief for what it is. If "Groovie Ghoulie" isn't a perfect pop-punk song, I don't know what is. "Wiggle," a tale of a romantic betrayal so devastating that it permanently ruins one of your favorite records, would have had 25-year-old-me doing backflips.
Kollektief will certainly be an extremely polarizing release within the pop-punk scene. I understand that a lot of people are feeling bamboozled. But having already gone on record as a fan of Kryye's music, I would be a stone cold bullshitter if I suddenly claimed I didn't like it. If I wrote off every album where the people listed on the back cover didn't actually play on the record, my music collection would be considerably smaller. When it comes to fake bands, Kryye is pretty dang legit.
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