Boston, MA band Unseemlier‘s debut LP, I Have A Screw Loose Somewhere, melds the sound of 1990s emo bands and early 2000s with soft punk. Using the sounds from the different eras of the genre and swapping out parts from the bands associated with it, Unseemlier has made an album full of heart and grit.
The album kicks off with “Life Trap.” This minute-and-change song about keeping moving and your head up right away sets the album’s optimistic tone. This mood-setting track leads us into familiar territory. There’s a Jawbreaker meets Midwest Emo influence on most of these songs, which never sounds derivative. While this feels very obvious on most of the tracks, it doesn’t take away from the quality of them at all. Bass player Andrea Neuenfeld’s additional vocals are a highlight on songs “I’ve Got That Dog in Me” and “Worse for Where?” Standout tracks for me would have to be “Anarchist Scholastic Book Fair” and “My Own Summer (Pop Shiv It).”
This album keeps a pretty decent pace, but sometimes the momentum is killed with some sound clips from movies and TV shows that are inserted into some of the songs. Clips from Orange County, The Wedding Singer, I Heart Huckabees, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia are right up my alley. In the case of Jack Black’s Orange County clip, it’s one of my favorites and most repeated. While I like that as a trope from old pop-punk and emo albums, it’s a little overdone here for my taste.
Outside of that, there’s a lot to like about this album. Overall, Unseemlier’s l Have A Screw Loose Somewhere is a good ride. If emo and pop punk are your thing, give this record a spin. While it hits the mark, the record is also its own thing. Love it or hate it, pop punk and emo are still alive, and great bands like this are doing their part to keep it that way.
Check out Unseemlier’s I Have A Screw Loose Somewhere on Sell the Heart Records or purchase the record here.