CoCoComar – Things Are Not Alright

My prediction for the next decade of punk is an explosion of the bare-bones pop-punk formula that has been gaining momentum with bands like The Copyrights, The Methadones, The Riptides, and so on.  Upon listening to Chicago pop-punk act CoCoComa’s sophmore full length, Things Are Not All Right, I stand strong in my prediction.

Firstly, based on the digipack’s cover art, the group’s style caught me completely off guard.  At least for me, the initial bright, colourful artwork completely screamed mid 00’s power-pop.  I thought to myself, “okay, looks like we have another band with tight jeans and bad haircuts to add to my list of Fall Out Boy clones.”  But then I started up the first track, and what I heard what sounded like a crossover between modern Ramones flavoured pop-punk act Teenage Bottle Rocket, and the gritty 80’s garage-punk of bands like The Tranzmittors.  What a pleasant surprise.

Like the swing of a pendulum, most tracks fall somewhere between these two influences – although some lean more heavily on one or the other.  Like many organ led 80’s punk revivalists, CoCoComa tends to emphasize their lyrics through their instruments during choruses.  In the most obvious example, “You Better Beware,” the drums, guitars, and organ all echo vocalist Bill Roe as he recites the song title.  On the other side of the pendulum, most tracks feature heavy bouts of repetition.  The band has measured success with this technique and on tracks like “Lie to Me” and “Won’t Be Long” fall into the trap of ineffective reiteration.

Surprisingly, Things Are Not Alright’s strongest tracks stray from their primary pop-punk orientation, and flirt with old school rock’n roll.  Those like “The Right Side” and “Alright, Alright, Alright” pull out some 50’s dance hall grooves, almost touching on a faint rockabilly spirit.  The best example and the album’s peak, “Water Into Wine,” blends a pop-punk tempo with a rock’n roll swagger for the album’s catchiest chorus and smartest verse.

Discovering CoCoComa through their latest release has been a pleasant experience.  Sure, I might have been a little judgmental at first – judging a book by its cover and all – but that’s what the industry has provided us with for the past ten years, so how can you blame me?  Things Are Not Alright isn’t perfect – repetition ends up a chief offender – but when it works, it work well.  On the hole, a little more variation could only be a good thing.  Here’s to hoping CoCoComa continue developing and broadening their developing already solid sound well into the new decade.