Nerf Herder – IV

Bored of the dark haired, depressed emo style, many bands are attempting to re-introduce the concept of “fun” into their music. Bands like Four Year Strong, The Wonder Years and Farewell are all out there, proudly proclaiming that they’re set to bring fun back into hardcore and punk and all that jazz. They infused some pop melodies into the choruses, wear headbands and carry a wide ass smile on their face all day as they sing/scream song after song. But instead of bringing the fun back, bands like that just make the listener nauseous. They’re not fun or entertaining, just a dorky band with a shtick trying to cash in on a musical trend with a slightly different spin. Instead it is bands that don’t try to be fun and brag about doing so that actually end up being so much fun. Pop-punk bands like Teenage Bottlerocket are helping keep the fun in the music scene without gloating that they’re doing so and no pop-punk band is doing that better than Nerf Herder.

Fresh off a little hiatus, Nerf Herder‘s IV sees the band continuing what they’ve been doing for over a decade and that is create undeniable catchy, entertaining, comical and just plain fun songs. What makes it so much fun you ask? Well, there’s really two elements of IV that make it stand out in the crowd. First is the music. Not too complex, the band sticks to a regular formula of verse-chorus-verse but what they do in that formula makes the songs unforgettable. Merging elements of late nineties pop-punk with Weezer like nerd-rock, the three piece delivers a well produced pop-punk sound that I grew up on. It’s a sound that would cure the woes of any the depressed emo kids and would make a better radio single if the style was popular now. Slightly nasally vocals, distortion pedals, spoken word moments and even the occasional synth moment, Nerf Herder‘s IV is a sugary sweet pop-punk album that is better than most of the stuff being pushed out these days all the while setting itself up to be the carefree sound of the summer.

But what really makes IV such a truly fun album is the witty, comical and just plain absurd lyrics. Delivered in the aforementioned sugary sweet voice, songs on IV are the perfect anthem for immature nerds and lovelorn teens. Teetering on the edge of stalking, Golfshirt (Part 2) is a funny love song that comes right before the band contemplates the different possible personalities that will appear at a High School Reunion. Manatee is a loveably absurd song that kicks off with I Am A Manatee / I Live In The Sea / I Sneak Up At Night /Pretty Baby Just To Love You Right and ends with You’ll Shout Hot Damn!/When You Feel My Whiskers On Your Clam. Weird but delivered with such a careless attitude that you can’t help but smile. The same can be said for the closing track The Backpack Song where the singer swears revenge of band mates for buying the same backpack as him for tour.

This record is a cure for the heartbroken teen. This record is an anthem for losers around the world. This record is fun, catchy and immature without a care in the world. Think Weezer with The Queers and some Screeching Weasel. Think songs about garage sales, Led Zeppelin and cassette tapes. Think fun and you’ll think Nerf Herder and maybe, for once, you’ll crack a smile as you sing along.