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Knuckle Puck

While I Stay Secluded EP

Written by: PP on 12/12/2014 23:26:57

Catch phrase level: Real Friends. Intellectualism level: The Wonder Years. Emotional explosion level: The Story So Far. Welcome to Knuckle Puck, one of the breakthrough artists in the underground pop punk scene during the last twelve months. Their third EP "While I Stay Secluded" is their best work yet, an exhilarating modern pop punk record where raw passion and unfiltered emotion is laid bare for all to see in an explosive, high-energy expression. The six songs on the EP are awe-inspiring displays of spirited aggression balanced against introspection and social criticism, showcased through intelligent lyricism that's drowning in vocabulary words not just for the sake of it but because they just happen to fit the songs best.

Opening track "Transparency" is one of the best songs this year. Overpowered with passion and emotion, it recalls the old Such Gold material and "Mutiny"-era Set Your Goals in a 50/50 fashion, delivering a scathing critique of social networking with lines like "Where's the sustenance of being ostentatious? Your life is covered by news feeds and notifications" and "And all I want is for everyone to be aware of their own transparency". The echoing repeated gang shouts of "there isn't anything social about it" arrive just in time to reinforce a message of people plastering their lives of social networks with zero actual content or reason for anyone else to care, suggesting that we are all more alone than ever before ("Spreading ignorance like common plague, I can't stand it, it's pathetic"). These lines are embedded within bright hooks and perfectly timed energetic melody explosions - the kind that get people passionately vaulting themselves towards the singer at intimately packed live shows of like-minded peers. The amount of energy present is staggering at times for a studio recording where it sounds like the band are bouncing off the walls whilst playing their material.

Other songs echo elements of The Wonder Years - such as "Alexander PI" - or deliver more impossible-to-resist sing along call/response patterns, such as the "I'm an unlocked door and you're a fucking thief" on "But Why Would You Care". And while the enthusiasm levels of their vocalist draws parallels to The Story So Far at the same time, it's easy to see why so many people have embraced Knuckle Puck with open arms. Let's put it this way: if you don't find "While I Stay Secluded" EP an excellent release this year, there's probably no hope for you in liking pop punk, especially the kind that's not as shallow and superfluous as the majority of the content in the genre.

Download: Transparency, But Why Would You Care?, Oak Street
For the fans of: Such Gold, Set Your Goals, The Story So Far, Real Friends, The Wonder Years, Transit
Listen: Facebook

Release date 28.10.2014
Rude Records / Bad Timing Records