I love it when bands literally come out of nowhere and then fly into my CD player, barely leaving it for days on end. I’d never heard of either Bangarang! or The Wonder Years before this lovely split CD arrived on my doormat – but now I do I want to spread the good word as far as I can. Ditching any preconceptions that you need to fall into the Fall Out Boy trap of writing pop songs to be awesome, both of these US bands are nothing short of fantastic. Neither are the finished article, but we’ll be hearing a lot more of their Lifetime/New Found Glory/Set Your Goals crossover in 2007.
Bangarang! are up first with four quite awesome slabs of pop-core (so named because it marries pop punk and hardcore) that hit the spot almost immediately. With lead guitar fills and gang vocals ahoy, it’s impossible not to like their brand of positivity. And when there’s a backing whoop halfway through ‘We Dress To Impress’, followed by a crunching palm-muted guitar riff and a mini-breakdown, I’ve gone week at the knees. ‘By Heart’, astonishingly, raises the bar even higher, thumping its way through 2 minutes and 26 seconds of pure fist-in-the-air joy. I remember the first time I heard ‘I Nailed Your Prom Date’ I was just floored at how good this band’s quartet of tracks were. Their Lifetime-esque sound isn’t new at all, but it’s so energetic, fun and fresh that anyone wanting music with some balls will fall in love with this band.
The Wonder Years have plenty to live up to, yet they manage to match their friends with a poppier edge, yet just as fun to listen to. The bass-led intro to ‘My Geraldine Lies Over the Delaware’ gets things going right from the off, while ‘I Ain’t Saying He A Gold Digga (Sike!)’ has a slight The Starting Line edge to their sound, although the screams add an extra layer to their sound. The band claim to have played with Boyz II Men and clearly their close encounter with such a, ahem, legendary group has helped their melodies and harmonies – ‘Let’s Moshercise!!!’ sounds quirky as hell and a load of fun to boot. And anyway, how can you not like a band that, in their own words, likes “ninjas and shit”?!
Basically, this is the best split EP I’ve heard all year. And if you like The Movielife, Set Your Goals or any of the harder edged pop-punk bands, this is absolutely essential. Help independent bands and labels and buy this record. It’s dead cheap and super good – Christmas has certainly come two weeks early.