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

The video itself is of course filled with the movie themed imagery, basically providing a Storm Trooper pop-punk party.

‘Rockingham’ is available now via Golfshirt Records.

In their typical tongue-in-cheek style, the track blends pop-punk with the sounds of, well, Weezer.

‘Rockingham’ is available now via Golfshirt Records.

‘Rockingham’ marks the first full-length release in 8 years by the Santa Barbara punks, following 2008′s ‘Nerf Herder IV’. It will be available via the band’s own label, Golfshirt Records.

After the disappointment of a pile up on the M1 meaning a NERF HERDER and CAPTAIN EVERYTHING no show last time they were booked at the Corp, I was looking forward to the rescheduled gig and the brand new supports and after a last minute addition to the guest list, I was on my way.

The afternoon before the gig was spent at a

PAUL: “How (if at all) has the band changed since the last full length album, ‘How To Meet Girls’ was released?”
PARRY: “We are much older and grumpier. Also, even though we’ve played many shows over that time we have become much worse musicians. However, ‘American Cheese’ is a much more rocking CD than the last. I’m not sure why.”

PAUL: “How did the recording process of the new record go? Had you decided that there would be no radical changes in the sound, going with the adage ‘if it ain’t broke why fix it?'”
PARRY: “‘American Cheese’ is a somewhat experimental record. ‘How To Meet Girls’ was very expensive, with what seemed like millions of takes for each song. Every note was picked apart and re-recorded. I felt like a lab rat when I was doing my vocals. As an experiment, on our new CD we recorded lots of songs real fast with little or no preparation. I was drunk much of the time. This CD was a lot cheaper to do. Some inexpensive Squier guitars were employed. The first song ‘Welcome
To My World’ is actually the same drum track as our old song ‘Down On Haley’ from our first record. I just wrote new music over it. Most takes were first or second time. That’s why the whole thing is so rocking. Our next CD will be even cheaper and more half-assed, and therefore, a total masterpiece.”

PAUL: “Why should we all go out and buy ‘American Cheese’ after reading this interview?”
PARRY: “All I can say is, you’re either “down”, or you’re a “clown”. (I’m not sure what that means).”

PAUL: “Did you ever think the Buffy theme would ever have been so big when you first went and recorded it for the show?”
PARRY: “No. It is still shocking to me. It is perhaps the single most lucky thing that has ever occured in Nerf Herder‘s existance. The company we had just signed to, Arista, was totally against it. They thought it would be an embarrassment to them. They argued that our name should be smaller in the credits. Look whose laughing now!”

PAUL: “What expectations do you have for the new record? Are any targets set in terms of feedback or even sales before the cd is released?”
PARRY: “I expect it will get terrible reviews and mediocre sales, just like the Velvet Underground’s debut album. Then, thirty years later, it will be celebrated as a landmark genius masterwork, and I will be hanging out with a really old Lou Reed. Or so I hope.”

PAUL: “What did you think when ‘Van Halen’ exploded all over the radio? Did you ever get any feedback from the band whether they liked the song or not?”
PARRY: “Sammy Hagar really hated the song, and us. The Van Halen brothers liked it, although we never actually got to meet them. David Lee Roth was suspiciously quiet about the whole thing.”

PAUL: “Same question about Courtney Love… what did she think about ‘Courtney’? And would you really want her to sit on your face? I mean she’s been about a bit dude…”
PARRY: “Sure, I’d let her sit on my face, although I might ask her to keep her pants on. I heard she thought the song was “weird”, which it is. At least she didn’t murder us.”

PAUL: “Any chance of playing a full UK tour anytime soon? I know there’s the London gig, but for us folk up North we can’t always make it down there…(hint, hint…)”
PARRY: “We will be touring all over your country. Our goal is to eat at every Little Chef.”

PAUL: “What did you think to Star Wars Episode II?”
PARRY: “I thought it was great. I could have done with less romance on the grassy field, and more fighting, more explosions, and more of Natalie Portman in that tight white space suit thing.”

PAUL: “We also asked some of our regular readers what questions they wanted to ask you and here are a few of them: What is your favourite brand of American Cheese?”
PARRY: “Kraft. I just leave the plastic wrapper on. It’s delicious.”

PAUL: “How do you actually meet girls?”
PARRY: “Meeting them is easy. You can do that anywhere. It’s having sex with them that’s the problem. I’m still working on that. Give me a few months.”

PAUL: “Have you noticed any Goths turning up to Nerf Herder shows because of the Buffy theme?”
PARRY: “Oh yes. Some have even worn plastic fangs. I like Goths, they are generally really nice people.”

PAUL: “Finally, what are you going to do the second after you stop answering my stupid questions?”
PARRY: “If I told you, I would have to kill you.”