The Hextalls – Get Smashed

There are certain times were a CD comes out of nowhere and simply blows you away within the first few seconds. There are times where those first few seconds will end up being the highlight of the album; but if you’re extremely lucky, the band will be able to continue blowing you away for the entire album.  Vancouver’s The Hextalls are one of those rare bands that come out of nowhere, blows you away with the opening track (which, in this case, is I’m A Recluse!) and continues to wow you for the entire album; and because of that, Get Smashed becomes the first great pop-punk album of the new decade and an early front runner to end in several year end lists nine months from now.

Far from extremely innovative, The Hextalls take the best elements of every pop-punk band around and merge them together into a tight, cohesive, fun and energetic outburst of nonsense. There are elements ofScreeching Weasel in the power chords and vocal delivery, there’s some Teenage Bottle Rocket sing-alongs, some similarities to Edmonton’s The Old Wives, nonsensical lyrics like Nerf Herder andChixdiggit – just with a sound similar to the later than the former.

Cramming seventeen tracks into less than thirty minutes of play time, I’ll admit that Get Smashed has a few songs that fly by without note (I doubt I’d be able to pick out Generic Mid-Record Power Balladand Diaper Change if I heard them again) but the ones that stick really stand out.  You get the ultra catchy sing-along Mark Wilson (that sounds like a punkier cut from Jupiter Sunrise). There’s the hilarious, minute long Pacman love song in Pacman which is a pop-punk song that Nerf Herder wish they wrote. And, of course, there’s those few hidden gems that clock in at around ten seconds each like Rally, Tina Turner and I’m Hiding Your Car Keys In The Garbage  that are as comical as they are short.

This is Lookout Records in its prime. This has some Red Scare elements to it and some Asian Man tendencies as well. Think of every band I’ve mentioned in the review so far along with The Ergs, Squirtgun, Face to Face, The Riptides and The Riverdales. Now, mix them together and you’ll get The Hextalls. So if you’re looking to add another band to the list of awesome pop-punk bands, look no further than this Vancouver quartet.