Pkew Pkew Pkew – Optimal Lifestyles

Pkew Pkew Pkew has been around for a deceptively long time.  While their first “official” full length came out in 2016, I believe the band’s first EP can be traced back to 2010, before the band dropped the “(Gunshots)” bracket from their name.  That being said, the band’s slow burn to the present has afforded them with plenty of time to develop their personality and style, leading to a “debut” that got picked up by SideOneDummy and caught the indie punk scene by surprise.  

Fast forward to the present and the band is set to released their anticipated follow-up through the trend setters at Dine Alone Records.  Optimal Lifestyles is the closest thing to a commercially viable album we’ve heard yet from the Ontario trio, but that shouldn’t be confused with the band giving up their scrappy tongue-in-cheek energy and signature pazaz.  This time around, Pkew Pkew Pkew themes their album around the potential for ruining one’s life in that comes with choosing to be in a band.

“Still Hanging Out After All These Years” sets the album’s tone from the get  go. The band unapologetically recognizes their present reality of being, “old friends committing new crimes,” reflecting on the realization that, “we’re the same old kids that we were before except older, we’re the same dumb kids, maybe that makes us dumber.”  With no greater ambition than sleeping on the couch after a night on the town, Kpew Kpew Kpew reinforces their status as chronic partiers.  Others like “I Don’t Matter At All” and “65 Nickels” find the band revelling in their inconsequential nature while rattling off chorus after chorus of infectiously repetitious pop-punk.  The inclusion of saxophone blasts during “Point Break” and and rock n’ roll swagger has a sort of Dave Hause/The Loved Ones flavour to it, albeit from earlier, more unbridled time.

The band’s high points rest at the intersection of their snarky attitude and catchy pop-punk melodies.  “The Polynesian” stands out as the sort of sing along, smirk inducing crowd pleaser that has served the band well in building their fanbase.  “We’ve got two rooms at The Polynesian, the sign says the water slide is closed for the evening,” sings the band as they build a narrative around looking for a way to pass the time between shows on the road.  Meanwhile, “The Pit” serves as a fun retrospective in which the band looks back at high school social groups, proclaiming “I’m glad I didn’t go to the pit,” detailing that even as marginal fringe musicians, they still ended up better off than certain social scenes.  Fans are sure to extract pure energy from the likes of “I Wanna See A Wolf,” which just as it sounds, details the band’s desire to view the majestic beast while on the road; coyotes and roadkill need not apply.

The album ends with the anthemic lifestyle mantra “Thirsty and Humble.”  The band closes with a clear commitment to their transient lifestyle, championing slacker priorities, videogames and a feisty nightlife they never grew out of.  Optimal Lifestyles is a tight, fun loving exemplar of Pkew Pkew Pkew’s aspirations.  If it all unravels for the band in five years I doubt they would have any regrets.  But if Optimal Lifestyles is any indication, they’re more likely to move on to greater fanfare as per former labelmates Arkells, meaning that this album stands to be remembered as as early breakthrough.