Gunmoll

Gunmoll…I don’t know what it means, but it sure sounds cool.

Melody seems to somehow escape from the hoarse, yelped vocals like a cross between Blake and Frankie, but a tad more gruff, if you can believe that. The guitar wails as if haunted by the ghosts of Marshall and Gibson. The rhythm section, while not exploring any new territory, does the trick ably and rockingly.

Tracks four (Fallen) and seven (New King on Parade) are the stand-outs on the record, although there really aren’t any bad or boring songs on the whole thing.

Fallen is one of the mellower songs with such a great chorus and cool guitar work, you can almost hear it on the radio. God, I hope I don’t. (For the record, I wish GUNMOLL all the success in the world. But hearing one of their songs after a Matchbox 20 song would really ruin my buzz…).

New King on Parade’s opening guitar riff, the Downtown Julie Brown shout-out, and the lyric “Don’t hurt me I’m afraid to die!” make this one of my favorite songs of the year.

This is excellently played and written pop-punk-rock in the Jawbreaker “Unfun” vein with a little more emphasis on the ‘rock.’ Not pushing any new boundaries, but it’s a breathe of fresh air to hear a band play such stripped down, honest punk in a time when everyone’s trying to be the next big thing.

Featuring members of other No Idea bands, but you really should just pick this up because it’s amazing all on it’s own. I just wish they printed the lyrics…