If you enjoy respectable shades of '90s alternative with more of a punky bite, you'd do well to check out the Rookie cassette EP from PacNorthwest act So Adult.

Featuring Shook Ones bassist Bo Stewart in the mix, So Adult get by on some fun, crunchy vibes. With earnest, slightly grainy vocals and a finely free-wheeling mode, it reminds me of Tenement with a little more Lemonheads. There's some Dino Jr. in here I think, too, as well as a teeny bit of whatever Jawbreaker was probably going to write after Dear You (and before Orange Rhyming Dictionary, still). Every song has a pretty solid hook to boast, from "Citizen's Arrest" as a pretty catchy proper opener to the mid-tempo aplomb of "Winged" and adamant spirit of closer "We Won't."

Complemented with a couple '80s/'90s hip-hop interludes, this is a nifty, easy little release. It doesn't hit as hard as it should, perhaps, but it's hopefully a good taste of greater things to come.

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Citizen's Arrest
Winged