Distances

There seems to be this big underground thing with split 7" these days. And it's awesome. That brings me to this weeks review. Philadelphia pop punk, The Wonder Years meets UK pop punk, All Or Nothing. Pretty fucking rad.

The Wonder Years are now a full length and two 7"'s deep into their career, dividing time between being students and touring. They do a pretty bad ass job. The Wonder Years's side of Directions is too short for my liking, only two songs. However, in true TWY fashion, the songs are awesome and funny. The first of two, 'An Elegy For Baby Blue' is just a good, old fashioned pop punk song. Their second song feels like a track two on a split, good, but, could be better.

The All Or Nothing side is 3 tracks and not too bad. They always came across on the poppier side of pop punk, but these three tracks give me some hope that they aren't just another version of We The Kings or Sing It Loud (I hate them both, just so you know). Lots of hooks and bouncy guitar riffs are always a plus, considering I make my business listening, playing, and writing and writing about pop music. The first All Or Nothing track is really the best one, the other two aren't bad, the last, 'This Is Very Impossible', is the better of the two, with a pretty cool solo at the end that isn't overbearing and stupid, like 99.9% of solos that I hear.

Over all, pop punk is still alive and still breathing in the underground. Bands like The Wonder Years and All Or Nothing are still keeping the slightly juvenile yet poignant pop punk music breathing well as veterans like New Found Glory sort of get a little mature and don't have the same infectious quality on first listen.