Today’s offering comes from what appears to be a one-man pop-punk show who goes by the moniker Who Needs You. A quick glance at the facebook page for Who Needs You reveals only Anthony Elliott as a band member, and features no real images of the band performing, recording, drinking beers, etc. The unsigned Bloomington, Indiana, act released his/their debut, self-titled EP a couple of weeks ago. No word on exactly how long Elliot has been in the business, but his sound is very reminiscent of much of the punk music that I cut my own personal teeth on, specifically the pop-punk sound of early 1990s Lookout! bands like Green Day, Squirtgun, Groovie Ghoulies, etc. Here’s a rundown of the album’s four tracks.
“American Screw” is the melodic, mid-tempo punk opener. The sound is lo-fi, but immensely well crafted. It reminds me of recent Dying Scene Spotlight band The Bogarts. It even has a guitar solo (in DIY pop punk!) in the latter part of the song, though the song itself does end on a bit of a sloppy note.
“Time To Kill” follows, and is the album’s most uptempo track. Sonically, it harkens back to Kerplunk-era Green Day. I know that in some sections of the “scene,” making a Green Day reference is a kiss of death, but let’s be honest: they had some great pop-punk albums for a while there.
“Cold Mornings, Old Warnings” is another early Green Day sounding tune. Lead singer/apparent jack-of-all-trades Elliotts has a little more of a snarl than many recent pop-punk vocalists: his voice has just enough grit to convey a sense of honesty and earnestness in his songs of need and frustration.
Album closer “Thursdays” is an interesting track that features just Elliott, a few distorted electric power chords and some well-placed harmonies a la Green Day’s “She.” Elliott’s vocal sound exudes early Billie Joe Armstrong on this song more than any other; his voice is eerily similar. Like, so similar that I thought maybe Who Needs You was a Pinhead Gunpowder/Foxboro Hot Tubs type of project. Thursdays is just SLIM and a few distorted power chords and some well-placed harmonies a la Green Day’s “She”. “Thursdays” sounds as though it is about the terrible end of a relationship, and closes with the line “everything’s been real but you,” which I find particularly poignant.
The Who Needs You EP has great bones, and really contains some solid punk rock tunes. If it suffers from anything, it is really its lo-fi recording quality. Some bands sound better lo-fi because the muddy sound covers up gaps in that band’s talent. Who Needs You are good enough to warrant having an album that sounds a little more polished to really let the music shine.
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Casey Royer, former member of Social Distortion and The Adolescents and current member of D.I., was sentenced to 90 days in jail and a three year probation after last month’s overdose. For those who don’t remember, Royer OD’d on heroin in front of his 12-year-old son, who got a neighbor to call 911. The house was littered with garbage and drug paraphernalia when the cops arrived.