Is pop-punk a dirty word anymore? A short history of the genre starts with the bands from Dischord Records, moves onto the SoCal scene of world conquerors like Green Day and The Offspring, all before the mid-2000s had pop-punk being bashed by Fall Out Boy and Simple Plan.
Now it’s 2014, a bright new era where pop-punk could mean anything, and one of the longest running bands of the genre, The Lawrence Arms, have released a new album. The main question is: are they still good?
The short answer is yes, they are still good. Very good, in fact. Thankfully, the three-piece refuse to cooperate with a major label and the empty promise of millions. They are still defiantly punk, and the snarls of tracks like ‘Chilean District’ and ‘Acheron River’ prove that.
Metropole is full of these punk moments, with each track containing at least one thrashing guitar solo. Blistering drumming is also a semi-permanent fixture, so much so that a ringing in your ears becomes par for the course.
The great thing about The Lawrence Arms though, is that they can marry these punk fixations with solid gold melodies. ‘The YMCA Down The Street From The Clinic’ even has a whistle, the most pop of songwriting tools!
The fact that the Chicago trio manage to combine these pop tendencies with loud guitars and growls so effortlessly is a testament to their status as a figurehead of how the genre should be done. Metropole proves that The Lawrence Arms are making breakneck tunes for the pop generation.
Listen to ‘You Are Here’ from Metropole here:
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