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The Fake Boys

Pop Punk Is Dead (2008)
Cheapskate

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: Brian
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on February 6th 2009

The Fake Boys' third EP (as far as I can tell) is a strong continuation of their straightforward but well-played pop-punk sound.

While I can only say I think these eight songs are "pretty decent," credit's due where it's due: For playing such a three-chord-based, tried-and-true style, I still can't really come up with a direct comparison. Yeah, the band frequently cite Jawbreaker, Buzzcocks and others as influences, and there are hints of Descendents and the Lemonheads here (also cited as inspiration), but there's something much cleaner and restrained about them than those name-drops would lead you to believe. Sort of like the Methadones. Yeah, maybe that's it...but probably not.

The material on Pop Punk Is Dead is a little more "mature-sounding" than what I last heard from them -- their split with Frogball. It's just got a groove about it and they tend to delve somewhere between medium and fast paces instead of the Frogball split's speedier, occasionally rushed delivery. Watch the band hit me up after this review is posted to let me know all the songs were recorded in the same session or something.

Most memorable? "Bugs," quite easily. If every song on the EP was as catchy as this one we might be talking 'best-of's here. Granted, the unwinding feel of closer "Dirge" is pretty cool.

Complemented by Jay Maas' pitch-perfect production, the music on Pop Punk Is Dead tends to beg for a retraction to its foreboding title.

STREAM
Suckfest
Pop Punk Is Dead
Eat Leaves
Bugs

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gregrussian (September 29, 2011)

I'm guessing you'll never see this seeing as how you posted in 2009, but what exactly is your argument? The album cover shows a "punk" looking girl mowing the lawn of a beautiful suburban home, which is probably some sort of an attack at the suburbanization of punk, but how exactly would you see it as an attack at you if you look like a frat boy? Also have you even listened to the album, cause not a single thing you said pertains to the music on the album which is the point of a review.

SilentStorms (February 10, 2009)

"Wait, Black Flag is pop punk? And I take that album cover as a personal assault on me, given that I dont look punk or do stereotypically punk things.

So so what if Normal Looking People like punk? That's so superficial. I'm a 20-something who doesnt look punk AT ALL ( Im closer to looking like a frat boy, if you must know), but I have internalized punk ethics out the wazoo and I work in human services, getting paid shit-to-nothing for frustrating work with underprivileged ppl who are usually out of their minds on drugs. So fuck you The Fake Boys if you think im not punk enough. Because so what if I happene to be earning a little extra cash on a Saturday by mowing some rich fuck's law, and also happened to be wearing a Black Flag t-shirt? You dont know shit about me!"

Holy fuck, where the hell did that come from?

sumwon (February 8, 2009)

Wait, Black Flag is pop punk? And I take that album cover as a personal assault on me, given that I dont look punk or do stereotypically punk things.

So so what if Normal Looking People like punk? That's so superficial. I'm a 20-something who doesnt look punk AT ALL ( Im closer to looking like a frat boy, if you must know), but I have internalized punk ethics out the wazoo and I work in human services, getting paid shit-to-nothing for frustrating work with underprivileged ppl who are usually out of their minds on drugs. So fuck you The Fake Boys if you think im not punk enough. Because so what if I happene to be earning a little extra cash on a Saturday by mowing some rich fuck's law, and also happened to be wearing a Black Flag t-shirt? You dont know shit about me!