"More Like Norman Fucking Mailer" is the first 2024 release (of likely many) from Friends of Cesar Romero. J. Waylon is that rare songwriter who can manage to be both prolific and consistent. There is no such thing as a sub-par Friends of Cesar Romero release. If you're into punky power pop, you need to smash that "Follow" button on Bandcamp so you never miss a new release from FOCR. That said, "More Like Norman Fucking Mailer," in my book, is one of the best songs J. Waylon has ever written. The title alone (which I assume to be a sly Lana Del Rey reference) is a work of brilliance, and thankfully the song lives up to it. On this release, J. Waylon leans towards power pop as much as he ever has. "More Like Norman Fucking Mailer" seems like a happy love song on its surface, but keep in mind that this is #41 in the Doomed Babe Series. Dig a little deeper, and you'll find signs of doom. This is a perfect power pop song, and little else needs to be said. On the virtual B-side, "I Believe In Her Science" is another top-notch power pop tune that's destined to become stuck in your head. This single is a tremendous showing from J. Waylon. His songwriting has never been stronger, and the sound quality he has elicited from a basement recording is beyond impressive. It's almost criminal that you can download something this good for free, but you will find many opportunities to wisely spend your money if you peruse the FOCR Bandcamp page!
Hey kids, are you ready for some perfect pop? The Shang Hi Los have been favorites of mine since releasing their first single in the fall of 2020. Last year's full-length release Aces Eights & Heartbreaks was one of my favorite albums of 2023 and could have passed for a greatest hits collection. It has been well over a year since we've heard new material from The Shang Hi Los, but the band is back with the first in a series of new singles on Rum Bar Records. Just in time for Daylight Saving, "Op-Operator" will spring you out of your winter blahs with its upbeat melodies and earworm chorus. There's just no denying that Dan Kopko and Jen D'Angora as songwriting collaborators and co-lead singers have something special going on. And the band, having added Chad Raleigh (The Rationales, Emily Grogan Band, etc.) on guitar, has never sounded better. "Op-Operator," with its blend of new wave synths and classic pop sensibilities, is a vintage Shang Hi Los number and a surefire indie smash hit. The song puts a clever twist on the "boy meets girl" theme. I've often pondered how vital communications can be when it comes to relationships, and this single's retro cover art drives that point home pretty well. The technology may have changed, but the significance of landing those digits has not. Now what happens after you land those digits is never fully certain! A music video directed by Joan Hathaway will premiere in a couple weeks and illustrate this song's story in quite an amusing way. For now, you can listen to "Op-Operator" and draw your own conclusions! More singles are in the works, and I'll drink to that. The Shang Hi Los: now with more guitars!
It's wild to think that it's only early March, and we've already had a slew of absolutely fantastic punk rock albums unleashed in 2024. Vol. 2, Split System's second long player, is up there with the best of 'em. Co-released by Goner, Drunken Sailor, and Legless Records, this monster of an album manages to be a step up from Split System's first full-length, Vol. 1. And honestly, I wasn't sure these guys left themselves any room for improvement on Vol. 1. But sure enough, they've found another gear. Vol. 2 blasts forth with 11 tracks of ferocious, hard-hitting, and uniquely Australian punk rock 'n' roll. Of course there's a lot of Saints in this band's musical DNA, which is combined with the fast and furious garage punk style the Aussies have been known for in recent years. Those riffs keep coming fast & hard, and as always, Jackson Reid Briggs shows himself to be one of the most passionate and powerful screamers in the punk universe. While a few tracks (such as "The Drain" and "Kill Me") find the band taking the foot off the gas pedal just a little, for the most part these songs aim to kick you in the teeth with full force. This is a general style that's been done thousands of times, but you'll rarely hear a band pull it off this spectacularly. If there were a how-to manual on capturing a raging guitar sound on record, these guys would be qualified to write it. And the songs, in addition to being positively crackling, are hook-laden and exceptionally well-crafted. This is one of those albums that will have you feeling unstoppable if you crank it up loud enough. And unstoppable seems to describe Split System as a band. In just a couple years, they've gone from an intriguing side project to legitimate contenders for the title of the greatest rock 'n' roll band in Australia. Vinyl copies of Vol. 2 are selling like hotcakes, so you best not fool around!
Hot damn, could this new Mala Vista album be any more up my alley? Fun Time, the New York City band's second long player, is a stone cold ripper of '77-style punk rock 'n' roll. As far back as 2019, I knew Mala Vista had tremendous potential. But five years later, the group has fully come into its own with killer chops, first-rate production, and fucking tremendous songwriting. These guys took all that potential and transformed it into the stuff of true greatness. Lean and mean at just nine tracks, Fun Time is chock full of single-worthy cuts. I appreciate that Mala Vista has the spirit of Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers, the Dead Boys, and Ramones without trying to copy those bands. Mala Vista has its own sound, and it's the sound of some of the most inspired punk rock that exists in America or anywhere else. "Juana La Cubana" sounds like the best Clash song in 40 years. If you like your punk music with raw energy, stellar hooks, and attitude for days, Fun Time is a must-buy. This album can absolutely hang with the classic records that inspired it. Spaghetty Town Records is owning 2024 so far!
I'd like to thank Mark for requesting/suggesting/proposing that I follow up my list of my favorite power pop albums of the 21st century with lists of my favorite pop-punk albums from each century. Today we'll tackle this century. It has been great fun to dig back into the pop-punk albums I've liked the best over the past two-and-a-half decades. I don't write the quantity of pop-punk reviews that I used to, but there are still a lot of bands in this genre that I really love. It's hard to define when exactly pop-punk became a genre onto itself. I'd probably say mid-'80s, which puts us around four decades into it. And that puts the majority of pop-punk's history in this century. I could easily have gone twenty or thirty deep on this list. But for the sake of consistency, I'm keeping it to just ten with a few honorable mentions. My challenge is that I'm going from memory since I no longer have a physical music collection (Yeah, I'm one of those people!). So I apologize in advance for anything that I've overlooked or forgotten. Let's get to it!
10. Parasites - Solitary (2008) The greatness of Dave's '90s output often overshadows his more recent work. Solitary is a vintage effort from what is probably my favorite pop-punk band of all-time.
9. The Putz -Clinically Inane (2017) I could have picked any Putz album for this spot, but Clinically Inane has the slight edge over the others. When it comes to modern bands that have taken that classic Lookout! Records sound and kept it going strong into this century, The Putz is hard to beat.
8. Jagger Holly - The Last of the International Playboys (2018) I would argue that while the '90s was the heyday for pop-punk, there have been numerous '90s-inspired pop-punk records in recent years that can stand toe-to-toe with the best of the albums they emulated. This is one of them.
7. The Bat Bites - self titled (2014) Duuuuude! How underrated is this album?! This was the first and only long player from Rotterdam's The Bat Bites, who featured several star players from the modern-day Euro pop-punk scene. If you don't own this album, you need to buy it ASAP!
6. The Tattle Tales - Hearts in Tune (2006) It can be weird with albums that helped get you through awful times in your life. The autobiographical significance is undeniable. But does the music still hold up when you listen to the album years later? In the case of Hearts in Tune, the answer is an unequivocal yes! What I loved about The Tattle Tales is that they were a pop-punk band that was first and foremost a great pop band. Christian is still making extraordinary music with The Feels.
5. The Sensibles - A Bunch of Animals (2013) From Milano, Italy, The Sensibles were a super-underrated 2010s band that released some of the decade's finest pop-punk singles (which were compiled into last year's wonderful retrospective Dino Nuggets). They also released a fantastic album called A Bunch of Animals on Rijapov Records. I originally likened this album to a "giant, one-ounce straw of Pixy Stix chased with a double shot of Espresso," and I would still order that concoction today. This record is everything pop-punk ought to be: joyful and ultra-energetic, with songs that blend child-like innocence and full-grown tenderness. It remains a ten out of ten release in my book.
4. The Unlovables - Crush*Boyfriend*Heartbreak (2005) While I've done my best to reign in my propensity for hyperbole in recent years, I cannot in good conscience call this album anything less than a classic. I will gladly die on that hill, and I bet King Ralph would too!
Civil Rats, authors of my seventh-highest rated EP of 2023, have topped themselves in a big way on Don't Get It., their sophomore EP. I don't often describe a collection of songs as "perfect," but that's the word that's coming to my mind as a I reflect on Don't Get It. This Philadelphia-based trio takes a very simple approach to music, playing energetic garage punk that's catchy and fun. Yet it's the execution of that approach — which I would indeed describe as perfect — that really sets this band apart. Remember the way you felt when you first discovered punk rock and were like, "Wow, this is the most awesome music ever!"? That's the sort of energy I get from Civil Rats. This band doesn't take itself too seriously, but it seriously rocks. And although the band's sense of humor really shines through on these six tracks, the songs' lyrics tackle relatable, real-life topics. Who among us can't relate to a song about watching a movie or reading a book and having it totally go over your head? "H-E Double Hockey Sticks," which describes the urgent need to extricate yourself from an extremely toxic situation, is immensely profound (without going over my head — ha!). Elsewhere, the band sings of the joys of basement shows, ruminates on how responsible adulthood can foil a person's hard-partying ways, and asks perhaps the most universal of all human questions: How much did we drink last night? If aliens came to my house and threatened to disembowel me if I didn't explain to them why I love punk rock, I would play them this EP. They would dance & sing along, and no Earthlings would be harmed. Don't Get It. will be available soon on cassette tape, so be sure to follow Civil Rats on the socials or pre-order a copy on Bandcamp if you'd like to get in on the action!
