 Pranksters - www.pranksters.de
Old, New, Borrowed, Screwed (released 2007)
Wipeout Records
The self proclaimed greatest band to ever grace the Denmark countryside, Pranksters do make a convincing argument! Thsi five track EP is a rolocking ride through MxPx influenced punk rock. Pranksters play (almost) pop punk. It's not sugar coated pop punk, but it is clearly available and attainable by the masses. Let's just call it friendly punk rock! You know, radio friendly. I like what the threesome has pulled to gether on here, as the band features well established musicians from the Denmark scene. Bassist Tim played drums for the Nerkromantix, vocalist and guitartist Lars played in at least one well known outfit, where drummer Mikkel played in several over the years. These fellas are well travelled and very well talented. The five tracks on here, averaging about three minutes each, all jump right off of the CD! The band leaves nothing behind with an aggressive three-piece style akin to the guitar and bass lines of One Man Army, but with the pop sensibilities of the previously mentioned MxPx. Again, fast paced, up tempo punk rock with the mix of friendly, and in one case rather humorous, lyrics. Two tracks stand out as being maybe not the best tracks, but the two that either make me smile or show off how great the band is in the songwriting and performaing categories. "It's All Too Late" is catchy and up tempoed enough to make the kids jump around with lyrics that are meaningful and not some trivial poetic nonsense. The other track, and this one just makes me laugh, is "R.J". At first, I wasn't sure what they were singing about, but upon a closer listen, they actually spell out who R.J. is... R-O-N J-E-R-E-M-Y. To be honest, I am not sure if the band likes or dislikes what the Hedgehog does or did. The song can be interpreted as anger or as praising the man... In any case, it's catchy and darker than the rest of the tracks which, along with the R.J. reference, makes for a great track. Fans of just pop punk that just slides under the radar of the radio audiences will find that Pranksters are poppy and catchy enough to delight every taste. -MG |
