In 2011, five young men from the suburbs of Chicago came together to do what other young men who want to be in a band do. They got together, with some instruments, probably in a garage, and created sweet sweet pop punk music. Arguably, they started with EP after EP that saw them lost among all the other 'sleepy eyes, boney knees' imitations but here, in 2015, Knuckle Puck have signed to Rise Records and are about to release their debut album, and it is this release that will make them a credible part of the pop-punk boom.
Copacetic is everything modern day pop-punk is famed for. It's whiney lyrics and hyped up melody and it's full of that emotion and honesty about love and life that today's youth connect to. In a scene dominated by the likes of Neck Deep, Real Friends and The Wonder Years, it's difficult to survive but these are the sort of bands that take Knuckle Puck out on tour and theses are the sort of bands that have influenced an album like Copacetic in nothing but positive ways. "What's the fucking point?" laments vocalist Nick Cassento on opener Wall To Wall (Depreciation) and this beat down attitude continues into Disdain ("What could you possibly see in a failure like me?"), Poison Pen Letter ("Now I'm self-medicated to black everything out") and through to the end of the album. The melody, like the lyrics, is heavy but there are softer moments amidst the likes of True Contrite and In Your Crosshairs which is where the boys come into their own.
This album has shown what Knuckle Puck can really do: they're versatile, they're relatable and they are certainly more than just copacetic.
7/10
Listen to: Disdain, Untitled
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