Ten Foot Pole – Escalating Quickly

It’s truly been a long road to California melodic pop-punk band Ten Foot Pole’s seventh proper full length, Escalating Quickly.  Best known for their brief but influential tenure on Epitaph Records throughout the 90’s, the band fizzled out after 2004 without ever really breaking up (although only having one remaining original member makes that simpler than having to get the band back together every few years).  It’s been fifteen years of false starts, including the 2017 rerecording of career favorites, Setlist, but Ten Foot Pole has finally delivered anew batch of EpiFat style ditties.

Ten Foot Pole has always been a bit of a 90’s b-list EpiFat favourite – the type you come across once you get into No Use For A Name or Satanic Surfers and do a little digging around with on “similar artists” lists.  Jagard’s vocals are nasally and clean, and the musicianship on Escalating Quickly is tight without being overly polished.  As opener “Everything Dies” makes clear, the band enjoys playing at a frantic pace with razor sharp riffs and overlaying vocal harmonies.  The band’s outlook seems to be one of staving off negativity with a snarky tongue in cheek mentality. “Don’t Be A Dick” in particular promotes healthy relationships and outlooks through the use of some comedic and colourful language.  “You can call it your special golden rule, or common consideration … It all boils down to kindness, or at least not being a meanie,” sings Jagard on the topic of respect, finishing the verse on the snarky moral punch line, “and if you don’t understand that, you might be a giant weenie.”

Throughout the album the band plays with all sorts of fun melodies and styles.  “Numb” capitalizes on a little synth loving fun while “Forever Road” meets high flying metal-inspired riffs that borrow some edginess from the likes of Strung Out and company.  Meanwhile, “The Antidote” takes a poppy approach that mirrors the blissful emotions that go along with growing old with your soul mate that you met “at a Bad Religion show.”  Some slower burning tempos surface at the tail of the record, infusing a reflective acoustic touch in “I Hate The Night” and most prominently “Goodbye Sunny Days.” While it might be a tad cliché to close out an album with an acoustic track, I’ve never been one to complain, and Ten Foot Pole pull it off intuitively, acknowledging that their core audience has likely slowed down since the band’s heyday.

Escalating Quickly ensures an easy appeal to fans of 90’s melodic punk that have hungrily been awaiting Ten Foot Pole’s return from dormancy.  You won’t find anything groundbreaking if that’s what you’re looking for, but rest assured this is the same Ten Foot Pole you grew up with on Punk-O-Rama compilations.  Escalating Quickly is a long overdue and satisfying return for one of pop-punk’s forgotten heroes.