When was the last real unashamedly American Pie-esque, girlfriend inspired pop-punk act with heart on your sleeve lyrics that didn’t totally suck. American Hi-fi? They sucked. Wheatus? No thank you. Jettingham? Nuh-uh. Fenix Tx? Ok, they were actually pretty rocking. Now imagine all these bands thrown in a great big melting pot along with a mini-moog and without the suckage, and you’re left with a little Californian band called Army of Freshmen. ‘Under the Radar’ is the group’s third major full length, and it’s infectious, childish and simplistic in every way. Yet it’s still an absolutely stellar release that I challenge you not to fall in love with on the first listen.
Just take one listen to lead single ‘Juliet’ and try to stop a smile creeping across your face from ear to ear. With lyrics that were written with two blatant criteria – to bitch about unrequited love, and to rhyme while they’re doing it, these guys have highschool heartbreak down to a tee. Elsewhere there’s brilliance in the form of ‘Wrinkle in time’ and ‘Through the Screen’ that rely on some stupidly happy synth sounds. That’s the thing about Army of Freshmen – there’s no denying the amount of pure cheese that’s involved in the songs, or the lack of any sort of progressive ambition, yet it’s abundantly evident that they just don’t care, and it’s impossible not to love them for it.
Yes, there are a few dollops of crap here too. ‘Groundbreaking song’ is one of them. Reminding me of a second rate Lit, it’s not great by any means, and is something of a big fat sore thumb of a song standing out in a crowd of awesomeness. ‘Shackle the wind’ is the other. It’s just unnecessary really, and brings down the tone of the album to end on a sombre, depressing ballad. Besides this, there’s little else that isn’t fabulous.
Army of Freshmen are special. They’ve set themselves apart from the new wave of pop-punk acts by being exactly what they should be – fun, immature and brilliant without a slight hint of pretence or shame. I don’t think even Cartel or Valencia can claim to fall under that particular umbrella, and for that they deserve a huge pat on their collective back.
Andy R