Teenage Bottlerocket
https://teenagebottlerocket.com
pop punk rock
Broadway Calls
https://www.facebook.com/broadwaycalls
pop punk rock
Jay Nothington
https://www.facebook.com/nothington/
punk rock
You probably know this much already: Teenage Bottlerocket (or simply "TBR" to their fans) is currently one of the hottest bands in punk rock and their new record, They Came From The Shadows, is highly-anticipated. But before we go any further you should probably know that they're from Wyoming. Crazy, huh? Although more famous for its frontier forts and characters like Butch Cassidy, the "Front Range" (as it's known to the locals) may very well be the unlikely home to the next great punk rock band. At least that's what the kids are sayin'. But don't take our word for it, even Alternative Press featured them as a "Band You Need To Know in 2009"... and they don't even have those Jennifer Aniston haircuts!
Collapser is Banner Pilot's third release in four years, and the first for punk stalwart Fat Wreck Chords. The band owes much of their sound to late-'90s pop punk, but they add a lyrical maturity that is lacking in the genre overall. The band compiles 12 songs, all between two and three minutes long and with catchy, layered melodies and bouncy, three-chord guitars instead of relying on shock value, snottiness, or manic speed. There's no rock 'n' roll reinvention, but Banner Pilot blend their influences subtly and they don't sound like a Ramones retread.
Their first release for the bigger label, Collapser, brings a noticeably poppier approach than its predecessor, Resignation Day, but the band's sound remains easily identifiable and relatively unchanged. Up-front vocals and defining harmonies carry many of the songs, and there's a notable similarity to Dillinger Four's Civil War that may alienate those who found that release too poppy.
The general tone is one of post-collegiate disgust at being tied down by the full-time work week, dramatized by singer Nick Johnson's tales of late nights at Uptown bars, stumbling home and losing his way. Collapser isn't a record to play before you go out; it's a record to play when you get home from the bar, frustrated that you've just wasted your time and money but still have to get up early and punch the clock.