As soon as you hear the first verse of the first song on this album you realize this: that The Bricktops are pop punk. Real pop punk, not the fake pop rock that they call pop punk to confuse the MTV-watching junior highschoolers of the world. Pop punk like the Ramones. These guys just might be the Ramones of the next generation. Except for less popular and with more street cred, that is.
First song "Taryn is a Lesbian" is damn catchy. It's a song I wouldn't be ashamed to blast out on my car stereo...it's pop, but it's fuckin' hardcore pop. And it's funny too, on top of that - I mean, the whole concept of this guy going after a lesbian but knowing that he'll never get her because she doesn't (as they put it) "like the cock" - it's just funny, okay?
All of their songs sound like they stem directly from the Ramones, and if you like the Ramones as much as I do then you won't mind that at all. But I could see how it could get slightly annoying after a while...I mean, as great as the Ramones are, sometimes you have to switch it up a little. And when all of the songs sound so similar that you figure they could very well be continuations of each other and maybe the whole CD is really just one long song instead of fourteen short ones, well, that could get to be a little too much. I myself don't mind, Ramones and heavily-Ramones-influenced bands are one of my weaknesses, but that's just me.
The song "42" sounds like The Bricktops listened to "The KKK Took My Baby Away" and just decided to change the words but keep the rest of the music, right down to the very last note. First time I listened to it with my sister we both broke out into "The KKK Took My Baby Away" at the chorus, without knowing beforehand that the other was about to do it. So apparently it's not just me who found the similarity between the songs.
This band really has everything you could ask for in an awesome punk band. They've got the three-chord sound down to a science, the vocals are spot on for a poppier punk band (like they are), they have clever, catchy songs that are bound to get stuck in your head for hours, and they have a teenage mindset and sense of humor that all of their fans can appreciate.
If I was being forced at gunpoint to decide, I guess I would have to say the best songs on the album are "Perverted Justice", "Bricktop Bop", "42", "Taryn is a Lesbian", and "The Happy Song". But that's only if there was a hostage situation and I was faced with my own impending death if I didn't choose their best songs - otherwise I wouldn't go through the hassle of picking and choosing. Because honestly, I love all fourteen songs on this album. And that's saying a lot, seeing as how on most albums there's at least one song I don't really like. The Bricktops are just that good.
I would highly recommend checking out The Bricktops and their new CD "Stay Home" to anyone who likes good ol' punk rock the way it was in the beginning. If you like the Ramones (and honestly, who doesn't like them?), then you'll like The Bricktops. This is pop punk the way it's supposed to be - three-chord catchy punk that you're proud to admit rocking out to. So yeah, I like pop punk. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd admit that openly, but it's true, I do. And if you listen to this band, I'm sure you will too.
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