If this your first time with Nerf Herder or you’re sitting there thinking “I’m sure I know that name from somewhere?” Your options are trifold: It’s originally a line from Empire Strikes Back, Leia calls Han a “Scruffy looking nerf herder”. Their singer is also responsible for Mid-00s YouTube hit “Baby Monkey Going Backwards On A Pig”. If that isn’t enough. They are responsible for the iconic opening theme for Iconic late 90’s TV Show – Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Whatever your level of Nerf Herder proficiency I’m sure those three factoids help shape an idea of the kind of band we’re dealing with here.

The album kicks off with ‘Portland’, a very catchy, guitar chugging-filled lament of the gentrification and ‘hipsterisation’ of the ex-crust-punk paradise of Portland, Oregon that any nostalgic ‘man the 90s were dope’-er can apply to their own world. The first four lines are literally, “Go back to Portland / Go back to school / Go back to the 90s / When shit was cool”. Let’s just say that it’s not much of a thinker, but a solid, lighthearted and nostalgic opening to a solid, lighthearted and nostalgic album!

Rolling on to the very literal nerd-fest: ‘At The Con’. No surprises here, just a wonderfully on-the-nose smorgasbord of nerdy references and pop punk with a Beach Boys-tinged chorus; it sets a new precedent as the first song ever to contain a lyric in the language of the Ewoks. It’s just great you guys. These first two tracks work as a good introduction to the general scale and magnitude of Nerf Herder’s repertoire: small, lighthearted and with tongues ever-presently pressed to cheeks.

After a couple of less impactful songs we have, coming in at track five, the absolute high point of the album. The epic, self-aware and highly amusing anthem to Nerf Herder’s peak of success, described in the title of the song: ‘We Opened For Weezer.’ The song tells the tale of the band’s tour supporting the aforementioned Weezer around the US. The song itself is a classic piece of late 90s nerd rock. Featuring familiar heavy grunge tone guitars playing happily major chords, the tried and tested “soft verse – loud chorus” structure and a massive Weezer-like octave solo. The true beauty of the song however, lies in the lyrics, a common trend with these guys, containing such gems as: “It was nerdcore heaven in ninety-seven with Weezer”; “Right about the time that Buffy started slayin’, we were on tour and we were playin’”; “They were singin’ the blues / Pinkerton was getting some bad reviews. / The guy from Rolling Stone didn’t like the songs. / The guy from Rolling Stone was totally wrong about Weezer” – a sentiment I think we can all agree with. The song culminates in a massive chorus coupled with, “And the kids sing ‘you might as well jump jump jump'”, the off beat ‘jumps’ lifting the final chorus and daring you not to start pogoing.

Following immediately comes another high point in ‘Jackie Got Married,’ Parry Gripp’s lamentation of the recent marriage of his favourite LA weather girl. With an intro that sounds like the band’s take on a The Story So Far song, it’s a 2:23, somewhat Ramones-style slice of pop-punk goodness.

It’s hard to think that an album that already appears to be made up entirely of call-backs could get any more referential, but they manage it with the next trio of songs: ‘I’m the Droid (You’re Looking For)’ a ‘forgotten man’ love song written almost entirely with quotes from A New Hope; ‘Ghostbusters III’, which cleverly uses the impossibility of another, original cast, Ghostbusters film as a metaphor for a relationship that could never work; and ‘Doctor Who’, a song about Doctor Who… and that’s it.

Of the two album enders, the very last of which is the “just fine” ‘Close Your Eyes and Dream’, the standout track is ‘Stock Photo Girl.’ The third in Parry Gripp’s trilogy of pretty bass-line anchored, ‘*Blank* Girl’ songs, preceded by ‘New Jersey Girl’ and the epic, band defining ‘Nosering Girl’ from the first album. In each song he falls in love with and is inevitably rejected by his latest dream girl; by this point his character has become so pathetic he’s fallen for a girl in a newspaper advertisement picture and is beautifully summed up in the lyric “I only want you to hold me! But you only… yeah you only, you only put me on hold”. It’s always great to get another entry into this dry humoured, increasingly depressing series of songs.

This isn’t Nerf Herder trying to relaunch their career, it’s a release for the fans. Quite literally in fact, as it was fan-funded through PledgeMusic. And to those who donated and the band themselves I say an enormous thank you – it was fantastic to have a sudden and unexpected Nerf Herder injection into my life. To some, Nerf Herder will always sound ‘too easy’ or ‘dumb,’ but to any who enjoyed this album I would highly recommend going back and checking out the rest of their catalogue, you’ll find yourself charmed by one of the unsung heroes of the genre.

HOMER KELLY-TARANT

These guys are offering up some classic sounding stuff, sacrificing the frantic The Story So Far-led hardcore stylings of this modern wave of pop punk for a familiar late 90’s/early 00’s sounds reminiscent of Jimmy Eat World, Yellowcard, Bowling For Soup and co.

There are no boundaries being broken or pushed here, more a shot straight in the centre as the EP plays like all your favourite teenage punk albums you downloaded in bits and pieces off Limewire. That said it doesn’t get boring, though of course you can see the similarities, it never sounds like a rip off or a covers band. These guys have their own endearing, messy sound and songs. They aren’t just rehashing all the old tricks, just telling us they’re still loved.

Opening the show we have ‘Can’t Forget’, the EPs flagship single. At first this sounds like a straightforward pop punk jam, a cross between a Sum 41 song and a self-titled area Blink track, though still with this band’s own distinct charm. Things rock along with a good four chord bash and catchy chorus when suddenly… what’s this? Everything just got quiet. Breakdowns are normal in pop punk songs but everything got echoey and I’m pretty sure the bass is an 808? Woah – dubstep drop!

The next two songs round off the first half of the EP. Less distinctive than their single counterpart, these two are still solid songs and fans of the band and genre will have no trouble with them. The second song, ‘Secrets’, goes a bit more in the alt route, with trashy drums and messy crunching discordant guitars in the verses and the chorus reverting back to some good old pop punk gang vocals.

‘Another Chance’ is another catchy pop punk fare full of angst and loneliness with a Zebrahead vibe. A big shout out goes to the solo, which, though part of an entirely different song in every other respect, manages to be a massive tribute to the epic ‘Hell Song’ solo by Sum 41. Even though it’s undeniably cheeky, it works.

The second half begins much softer. It starts with ‘Lonely Moments’, a pretty, acoustic instrumental that takes us away from the electric guitars and provides a lull in the volume that allows the next song, also acoustic but louder, to be a step up rather than down in energy.

It’s followed by ‘No Regrets’, an anthemic song that proves reminiscent of Man Overboard’s ‘Love Your Friends, Die Trying’. Starting slowly, not really grabbing you at first, but when you get to the meat it’s a really lovely song. As is typical of pop punk ballads, it’s sad yet optimistic and has a wonderfully catchy and pleasing gang vocal chorus.

The EP is rounded off with the dark ‘Youth Disaster’ that could be seen as this band’s ‘Stay Together For The Kids’, an ode to lost dreams and missed chances with a quiet brooding verse and massive chorus. A fitting end to a collection of songs that are a true love letter to the pop punk we grew up with, through the lens of a second language.

HOMER KELLY-TARRANT

The album begins with the monolithic lead single ‘Birds In The Trees,’ featuring hero of the genre and vocal powerhouse Benji Webbe of Skindred fame. Opening with a short, slow a-capella chorus of warm reggae harmony before hitting you hard with a truly stonking riff, which calls your body to rock and head to bang; before immediately shifting back three gears into a supremely chilled skanking groove for the verse. This really is a fantastically arranged song and a perfect intro track for the album, giving you a taste of all things to come within the first 40 seconds. The chorus is short, sweet and simple and acts simultaneously as a brilliant heavy drop point to end the verses and a launch pad into that awesome bouncing guitar riff.

After all that excitement a step back is taken for track 2 – ‘Leaving Home’ – a wonderfully laid back but sharp tongued track of political deep dub lamenting the struggles of Latin immigrants in the US. The verses are understated and groovy, providing a perfect platform for the vocals to sit on and lyrics to soak into you. It’s clever and poignant, establishing their dub chops and letting the listener see a drastically different dynamic to the band within their blended style.

The third song ‘Wasting Time’ is no exception, mixing things up with a fresh, poppy, reggae tinged soul song that is almost Bruno Mars-like. Sounding entirely coherent, it carries a hook that sits in your head for days. Following that is ‘Chosen Fool’ in which the energy is cranked back up for a brilliantly mashed dub/punk song about the paranoid and fear-mongering tendencies of modern media. This presents the best blend of their reggae and punk rock roots.

The middle of the album takes a bit of a turn down, not really matching up to the quality of the first four tracks with the trashy, punk rock ‘Johnny’s Song’; one of the album’s more flat dub songs ‘If You Want To’, and the solid but eventually repetitive dub/rock ‘City Lights’. Ultimately the second half of the album falls flat compared the promise of the first.

‘Alien’ lures you in with a deliciously slow groove of the dub you’ve come to expect thus far, with the ever present soul lashings in the harmonies and melody and a newly blues tinged heavy chorus. The jazzy piano-drums-guitar solo really stands out, building us up to the albums second heaviest moment.

Though somewhat patchy in places, this is a top quality album, featuring some fantastically high high points and entirely forgivable low points that don’t really detract from your total appreciation of this band. One thing that can definitely be said is that they are masters of their genre mashing, in which they are sometimes more successful than the genre frontrunners. Taking influence from all corners of both their reggae/dub/ska and punk/hard rock roots and making a more coherent and natural blend. It’s a varied album with it’s fair share of bangers and clever, slick song-writing. ‘Twist ‘n’ Turns’ presents a wide appeal, pleasing to fans of reggae, pop, rock, punk and soul.

HOMER KELLY-TARRANT