The Fear of Missing Out, or FOMO, is a pseudo-psychological phenomenon that describes the anxiety that one feels when they’re worried about not being present when something big or fun goes down. It’s likely a side effect of the rise of social media and our ability to consistently see and read about every fun thing that we weren’t there to witness. The Fear of Missing Out is also the title of The Bombpops’ newest collection of songs.
The latest band to make the jump from Red Scare to Fat, The Bombpops are armed with sunny hooks and sugary choruses, going all out on their first album for the label, which also happens to be their long-awaited debut full length album. The final result is a short and sweet, tightly crafted Orange County pop punk record.
Most of the album hits all the right notes you want to hear from Californian pop punk: catchy choruses, harmonized vocals, lyrics about enjoying the weather, it’s all here. First single, “CA. in July” epitomizes a lot of what people expect to hear from a punk band out of Southern California. That’s not to say that it’s all Green Day worship here: “Sweet for Sorrow” with its melody and vocal harmonies is reminiscent of Bad Religion, if Bad Religion played pop punk. “Jerk” takes a Weezer-ian approach; the verses have a heavy, kind of grungy sound while it’s chorus is straight up pop, and “I Can’t” is a thrashy in-your-face hardcore number that lasts all of 54 seconds. The Bombpops might not be the first pop punk band to show range and combine outside influences with their sound, but they do it in such a charming way and they easily join the ranks of the bands that did it before them.
Fear of Missing Out was released in February 2017, and astute readers may notice that this review has come a few months after then. One might even think that I, the reviewer, missed out on this record when it first came out and I’m only playing catch up now. “FOMO” might be a real thing that people feel, but fortunately when it comes to recorded music you can always go back and hit “repeat” as many times as you need. There’s no missing out here.
4 / 5
RIYL: Bad Cop/Bad Cop, Teenage Bottlerocket, Lipstick Homicide
Another new track from the inimitable Cory Branan‘s upcoming solo album, Adios, is now available, and it’s a special one. It’s a rather positive number (especially by the Memphis-based Branan’s recent standards) and it features the likes of Laura Jane Grace and Dave Hause on backing vocals. Check it out here.