Well folks, summer has almost come to an end. Those carefree late nights with nowhere to go the next day, the sleeping in until noon then maybe even getting a little day drunk will soon culminate in the kiddies going back to school, and most of us heading back into the dreaded nine to five workdays. Assuredly throughout the planning of trips and deciding which was the best meat to throw on the BBQ, you’ve been blasting your favorite tunes every single chance you get. Perhaps even creating your best ‘days of summer’ playlist. Now without a doubt there’s certain genres that pertain a little better to each and every season. In the colder fall and winter months you have spun a gloomy emo track to perfectly pair with those cold and dark nights (…or days…it gets dark so damn early!). But during those extended hours of sunshine months, you want to find that perfect jam for pounding some brews back with the boys, for tanning your otherwise ne’er seen the light of day body parts, or for those long highway cruises up to cottage country. For each individual this collection of songs will be slightly different. The genres could be one set type to fit the activity at hand, but for some it will be a multitude of genres and subgenres alike as to have a healthy mix for any and all situations. One mainstay on almost any great ‘Best Of Summer Hits’ has and always will be pop punk. Regardless of lyrical content, there’s just something fun about the genre which screams play me in some hot and sunny weather. And although SharpTone’s latest pop punk signing comes towards the end of many of yours favorite season, it’ll more than give you a great addition to that playlist of yours and help you to hold on tight to what’s left of the season. With their debut label release, Perspectives, Pennsylvania natives Send Request bring you some of those good ‘ol fun pop punk tracks but are sure to throw in some amazing heartfelt emotion as well.
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Genre: Pop Punk | Power Pop | Alternative Rock
Label: SharpTone Records
Release: August 24, 2018
Connect: Facebook | Twitter
Purchase: iTunes | Google Play
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The first track released by Send Request entitled “Dr. Dare Rides Again”…come on now…that name alone just oozes fun summertime vibes on so many different levels. A fun and bouncy intro riff leads you into singer Andrew Blank’s well suited, raspy vocals over fast paced instrumentals. A positive song with a great message, the lyrics and title both urging the listener to take that chance, to strive for something more in your life no matter how many times it knocks you down. Albeit not a new premise when it comes to the plot of a song in this genre, the group manages to throw their own fun spin on it through the overall sound, and definitely through the music video which features recent WWE Hall of Fame inductee, Jeff Jarrett. The video features the boys all perched around a bar, seemingly on the down and outs when a commercial for a wrestling competition and the chance to win some cash plays on the TV. All agreeing this sounds like a wonderful idea, the boys jump into the ring, only to have their asses handed to them (lack of a better way of putting it), and Jeff Jarrett smashing an acoustic guitar over lead guitarist, Derek Holminski’s head. The video provides a perfect visual metaphor for the plot of the song and makes for a super fun watch as well.
The second song up “Talk a Lot” brings the listener a bit more of a straight forward punk song, with an almost in your face edge in both the delivery of the instruments and lyrically. Beginning with a faint moodier sounding guitar, the volume picks up into a slower, but darker sounding melody. Bassist Aron Wood almost seems to have added a bit more distortion to really pack a heavier wallop and intensify that ‘edge’. Blank’s delivery is a bit softer over the palm muted verse, but almost as if he plans a vocal pounce of raised volume and he sure does deliver during the chorus. The tone of his voice matches perfectly with the agitated tone of the all the groups instruments. The bridge of the song manages to bring the overall aggressiveness of the song down a notch or two, only to be once again be slapped in the face with the final chorus. When you inevitably toss Perspectives on your playlist, this track will definitely be the one you play when you’re pissed off, doing 100 on the highway.
You know that sort of relationship where you seemingly do everything you can (unwillingly so) to lead to what appears to be an untimely end? Especially the one that you really don’t want to end, so you try to use every trick you know in the book, to use what your familiar with and to look at all situations from any angle possible to keep said relationship and even yourself together? That seems to be the main focus of the second single from Perspectives, entitled “Falling to Pieces”. When speaking about the corresponding music video, guitarist Derek Holminski had stated that they had actually filmed it in their hometown “…which most think nothing good comes from”, which meant that no matter where you’re from, what you do, where you’re at in life “…everything can be okay, it’s all about your perspective”. No matter which aspect of the song you focus on whether it be the video itself, or the lyrics, the overall message has so many applications in general for life. Sonically the song delivers a sense of worry, all the while instilling a sense of happiness and hope. This is a great ditty for those looking for either a musical source of inspiration or those sunset evenings sitting on the beach in your own small town.
With the song “When Everything Falls Apart” the boys in Send Request channel their inner Jimmy Eat World to bring you a power-pop ballad that’ll be sure to tug at the heart strings (it even sounds a little like “Hear You Me” for those of you familiar with Jimmy Eat World). The song seems to speak about someone who has always really been there for Blanks through thick and thin. It almost seems like this song has been written as a thank you for that all individual has done for him over the years. Blanks sings about being certain ages and the outlook one can have on the world. In your younger years you’re filled with such innocence. Such a positive outlook on the world. But when the world doesn’t treat you in kind you then wonder if everything could actually be as good as it seems. Later in your teens you’re now a bit more skeptical of what goes on around you yet feel that you’re owed something, and due to your views and how you may act people may look down on you and poke fun. But they could never be right. Once you hit adulthood everything becomes a bit more real, and it always helps to have someone…anyone…in your life that helps and guides you through this scary new world in front of you. The songs overall somber tone matches perfectly with what the words hope to convey.
Every great pop punk album must have at least a few ingredients before it can be truly certified within the genre. An overall fun time inciting sound, a song or two with an ‘F-You’ attitude, a track that caters a little more to the softer side some of us try to hide, and of course…an acoustic track. Although “Here’s to the Years” is not ENTIRELY acoustic (one guitar is an electric admittedly, and it is a full band song), it is damn close and still qualifies as this album’s staple acoustic song. The title alone begs an acoustic melody. This song in both sound and message is one of the most upbeat on the entire record. An ode to the good and bad times we all have, yet come together to shape who we are today, and we must cherish each and every moment of it. During the chorus Blank even sings ‘…I want my laugh written on my epitaph, so the world can see how much they save me’ almost as if it were a thank you to all of their fans, and to say that no matter what may come or go we’re grateful for everything. This song certainly fits the bill as the ‘must have’ acoustic track as well as being one hell of a fantastic sentiment for so many of us.
Summer definitely is one of those seasons more than any other that truly requires you to make your own personal soundtrack to each and every experience you’re going to have. You need the tracks for those late night get togethers. The ones for the days when you feel nothing but sand between your toes. That perfect bop to dance along to at your local bar. No matter the moment, music being the amazing and wondrous thing it is can perfectly accentuate each and every moment you have. Pop punk can certainly provide a song that could easily fit in with any of those aforementioned times and more. It can’t be just any pop punk though. It has to have some meaning, some emotion, some soul. Send Request have delivered all of that in spades with Perspectives. An album that gives the fans everything they’d expect from the genre, while tossing in so many fantastic surprises that it feels anything but simple or unoriginal. Yes, girls and boys, Summer may almost be at an end, but with Send Request giving us perhaps one of the greatest pop punk albums of the year, it doesn’t have to be.
