Mixtapes - Thought About Growing Up E.P.
Death To False Hope Records
2010
Mixtapes are a bit of a curious animal; on the one hand they seem, at least on the surface, to be just another innocuous pop-punk band that utilizes fast high energy tempos and sugary melodies. So far so standard. But on the other they offer up plenty to intrigue the casual listener and hardcore collector alike, such as a male/female vocal dynamic, frequent changes in rhythm and a "we're-gonna-release-whatever-the-fuck-we-want-whenever-the-fuck-we-want-however-the-fuck-we-want" attitude that makes them a hard band to keep up with if you are a completist nerd who screams I MUST HAVE EVERYTHING OTHERWISE I GO INTO AN OCD DRIVEN PANIC ATTACK!!!! These people are nuts, pity them...pity me!
Anyway this release, like 99% of their music is available for free download on Death To False Hope Records so if you like your punk there really is no excuse not to check this out at least. Here's a track by track rundown of what to expect:
Recently
This track is a short quiet number that serves as a kind of intro to what follows as well as showcasing what Mixtapes are about; Boy/Girl vocals, introspective lyrics and sweet melodies. I hesitate to call it a song fragment because Mixtapes have become known across the Org for this type of thing but it begins and ends before you know whats hit you. This is no bad thing really because it's lyrics show a thoughtful and considered approach to songwriting that trims all the fat and gets to the point. In the context of what follows it's a perfect little intro.
Morning Sex and AM Radio
Quite simply one of my favourite pop punk songs of recent times. The song leads off with punk guitar, driving beat and a sweet and mournful female vocal which switches to male vocal after a couple of lines. The female vocal is delivered in a kind of honey drenched croon while the male vocal is a more standard rough and ready nasally pop punk voice. The two voices complement each other perfectly and are often utilized in harmony. The chorus is extremely catchy and the lyrics detail a relationship between two people of the opposite sex that seems to be, refreshingly, not driven by sexual desire ("Talked all night and never even kissed.") The song changes tempo in the second verse to a more thrashy pop-punk style that uses some forbidden beat drumming. At 2 minutes and 6 seconds long it doesn't outstay its welcome and is a perfect little nugget of pop punk.
Poprocks and Coke
No, sadly, not a Green Day cover but instead a much faster, much more driving piece of sugary pop punk about....dun dun duuuuun.....eating poprocks and coke. It's fast it's fun, it's classic Mixtapes.
Sprinkles
The EP ends on a real high with a much longer and, whisper it, a much more experimental take on the genre than was previously offered, with slow meditative breaks reminiscent of "Recently," gang vocals and xylophone! Brilliant!
Verdict: Brilliant blink and you miss it EP for fans of the pop punk genre and Org-core bands.
8/10
For fans of: Cheap Girls, Houseboat, Pop-Punk
'BadIdeaDan' at mlm
2010
Mixtapes are a bit of a curious animal; on the one hand they seem, at least on the surface, to be just another innocuous pop-punk band that utilizes fast high energy tempos and sugary melodies. So far so standard. But on the other they offer up plenty to intrigue the casual listener and hardcore collector alike, such as a male/female vocal dynamic, frequent changes in rhythm and a "we're-gonna-release-whatever-the-fuck-we-want-whenever-the-fuck-we-want-however-the-fuck-we-want" attitude that makes them a hard band to keep up with if you are a completist nerd who screams I MUST HAVE EVERYTHING OTHERWISE I GO INTO AN OCD DRIVEN PANIC ATTACK!!!! These people are nuts, pity them...pity me!
Anyway this release, like 99% of their music is available for free download on Death To False Hope Records so if you like your punk there really is no excuse not to check this out at least. Here's a track by track rundown of what to expect:
Recently
This track is a short quiet number that serves as a kind of intro to what follows as well as showcasing what Mixtapes are about; Boy/Girl vocals, introspective lyrics and sweet melodies. I hesitate to call it a song fragment because Mixtapes have become known across the Org for this type of thing but it begins and ends before you know whats hit you. This is no bad thing really because it's lyrics show a thoughtful and considered approach to songwriting that trims all the fat and gets to the point. In the context of what follows it's a perfect little intro.
Morning Sex and AM Radio
Quite simply one of my favourite pop punk songs of recent times. The song leads off with punk guitar, driving beat and a sweet and mournful female vocal which switches to male vocal after a couple of lines. The female vocal is delivered in a kind of honey drenched croon while the male vocal is a more standard rough and ready nasally pop punk voice. The two voices complement each other perfectly and are often utilized in harmony. The chorus is extremely catchy and the lyrics detail a relationship between two people of the opposite sex that seems to be, refreshingly, not driven by sexual desire ("Talked all night and never even kissed.") The song changes tempo in the second verse to a more thrashy pop-punk style that uses some forbidden beat drumming. At 2 minutes and 6 seconds long it doesn't outstay its welcome and is a perfect little nugget of pop punk.
Poprocks and Coke
No, sadly, not a Green Day cover but instead a much faster, much more driving piece of sugary pop punk about....dun dun duuuuun.....eating poprocks and coke. It's fast it's fun, it's classic Mixtapes.
Sprinkles
The EP ends on a real high with a much longer and, whisper it, a much more experimental take on the genre than was previously offered, with slow meditative breaks reminiscent of "Recently," gang vocals and xylophone! Brilliant!
Verdict: Brilliant blink and you miss it EP for fans of the pop punk genre and Org-core bands.
8/10
For fans of: Cheap Girls, Houseboat, Pop-Punk
'BadIdeaDan' at mlm