Squirtgun – Broadcast 02.09.08.

Squirtgun is one of those pop-punk groups that existed well outside of my radar in the 90’s and entered a prolonged hiatus in the early 00’s, so I have very little experience with the group.  Their discography is limited to a short three albums, yet over their career they’ve somehow garnered the attention of heavyweights like Lookout! Records and Fat Wrech Chords.  I first encountered Squirtgun while browsing Fat Wreck’s band list well after they had called it quits.  I recall listening to a sample and passing them by as unremarkable.  In fact I was a little confused as to why they were sharing the same label as many of my favourite acts.

But for the next several years I never gave Squirtgun a second thought, and I assumed the band’s defunct status ensured I wouldn’t stumble across any new material.  But then the band suddenly announced a benefit concert on February 9, 2008, and, oddly, surfaced for a special show.  Apparently the event was such a rare occurrence the band opted to record their set as a live album, appropriately titled Broadcast 02.09.08.  So when I learned I would be reviewing a new Squirtgun record I was caught  way off guard, and wondered what warranted a defunct band that very few people still cared about releasing new material in the form of old material played live.  I held off listening to it for a while, but when the time came found myself pleasantly surprised.

Squirtgun must be one of those unfortunate acts that simply cannot work in a studio setting, because the Squirtgun on Broadcast 02.09.08 is certainly not the same one I remember rejecting in my first encounter.  The band plays with a chemistry seldom seen in kid-tested, predictable pop-punk, and the nineteen song set plays like a cohesive studio album.  Making the release more impressive, the band only rehearsed their set once prior to performance – after a lengthy four-year hiatus.  The thoughtfully written liner notes explain the significance of the concert to the band members, stressing Squirtgun as a band of friends who just can’t help but have a good time together.  I couldn’t agree more.

For those, like myself, who are a little unfamiliar with Squirtgun’s pop-punk style, I’ll provide a brief recap and overview.  Stylistically they sound like a combination of bare-bones punk-rock, like that found inTeenage Bottle Rocket or The Lillingtons, with a goofy vocal presentation somewhere along the lines of a toned down version of The Aquabats.  They have plenty of 90’s pop-punk markers, including theBlink 182-like “na na na na nas” found on “Please Be Mine” and “Burn For You,” and there’s even a little ska thrown in for good measure on tracks like “Headache All The Way”.  In any case, their sound is certainly fun, and easily carries Broadcast 02.09.08 through its 42 minute run time.

Broadcast 02.09.08 serves as the perfect reintroduction, or even outright introduction for new listeners like myself, to Squirtgun’s lengthy but sparse career.  As far as live albums go, Broadcast 02.09.08 is one of the most necessary and essential sets a band has ever captured.  If you are like me and never really understood why the hottest names in 90’s pop-punk signed these guys, then give Broadcast 02.09.08 a listen, and you’ll finally get it.