"keep it at that"

Up For Nothing

Keep It At That

my first impressions of this cd: wow, it's very pop...and surprisingly okay. i mean, in general i can't stand pop-punk acts (think good charlotte, blink 182, in that vein) but then again, this isn't that type of pop. it's upbeat, fast-paced, in your face punk...nothing wrong with that. this is more for the people who enjoy rancid (especially "indestructible" version rancid), nofx, bouncing souls, pennywise, and bands similar to those. some songs are more bubblegum pop than others, some are more hardcore-sounding (although in no way am i calling this band hardcore...to label them with that particular adjective would be an insult to both the band and the genre).

the first track, "shoot down the moon", sounds somewhat like a pop-punk ballad. very catchy, with a memorable chorus of "whoa-oh-oh-oh" that i found myself singing along with halfway through. and of course it has to end, in typical punk fashion, with a slew of "heys" that i'm sure even the ramones would have been proud of.

in fact, many of the songs on this cd are full of "whoas" and "heys" and the like (excluding "oi"...the band isn't an oi band though, so that was never expected of them). and most were singalong punk songs that i found myself yelping to without even knowing half the words. the second and third times around listening i was able to sing my heart out along with the band, and that's precisely what i did.

the vocals in up for nothing are (how can i put this nicely?) probably better-suited for an emo/screamo band than this pop-punk one. the lead vocals are whinier than most punk bands generally accept as okay, but hey, you can't really help the voice you're born with. and it's not like the guy can't sing...he's actually pretty good at doing that. backing vocals are pretty solid too...the "heys" chanted during choruses are like every "hey" you've heard before, from the ramones to rancid. of course, "heys" are pretty easy to cover...there's not that much expertise involved. the bass lines are pretty catchy and in some parts pretty impressive...i wouldn't have expected that much talent on bass (no offense to the band, but most punk acts i hear don't place much emphasis on hard bass lines). the bassist was by no means as talented as matt freeman, but then again, who is? nobody, that's who. the drumming was loud, fast, and solid as well...the way punk drums are supposed to be played.

the cd was a real breath of fresh air for me...it gave me a much-needed break from all the hardcore demos sent in for review to the zine. there's only so much hardcore one can take before slowly slipping into insanity, and i'm afraid i was almost at that point. but this cd was something completely different - poppy and upbeat. listening to them gives you a feel-good sense...it's the type of music you pogo your ass off to before the main act at a punk show. that's the best way i can describe it. you may not know the words the singer is singing at you, and you may not know where the song is going next, but it doesn't matter. it's enough to get you up on your feet, moving, pogoing and moshing, and just having a good time. and really, what more could you want from a cd?