The Spacepimps – Stuck Here Forever

After listening to Pittsburgh, PA’s pop punkers The Spacepimps, I can’t help but feel a little aged…

The band plays a style of pop punk in the vein of late 90’s/early 00’s revivalists Broadway Calls and The Wonder Years, looking to the twilight of the Blink-182 dominated era for inspiration.  Furthermore, I can actually relate to some of the young band’s aging pop-culture landmarks.  Specifically, the track “2003” looks back seven years to what they describe as a simpler time before the birth of myspace.  In the process they credit the social networking giant as the catalyst that commercialized the face of punk music…

Wait, what was that?  Punk sold out in 2003?  Well, I guess if you grew up on Good Charlotte and Sum 41, the past seven years have definitely changed (Brokencyde anyone?), but the same can be said about the difference between late 90’s punk and the 2003 transition.  Imagine growing up on Goldfinger or The Offspring and then suddenly being hit with Taking Back Sunday.  It’s a case of same story, different time.

So what does this pop punk biography have to do with The Spacepimps’ sophomore full length, Stuck Here Forever?  Well, it’s a personal reminder that there are those who will relish in the nostalgia of each of the album’s twelve tracks.  Tracks like “2003” will transport said audience down a memory lane of four chord punk acts.  For listeners like these, Stuck Here Forever will be ear candy.  But there will also be those for which the sound never really resonated with – who will view the album as competent, but not quite their forté.

Not to sound indecisive, but having developed my preferences somewhere in the transitional period leading up to 2003, I fall somewhere between extremes.  Consequently, I can appreciate The Spacepimps as a safe but fairly unremarkable listen.  This is barebones early 00’ pop punk filled with clean vocals, quick melody driven guitars, and a DIY attitude untouched by radio pressures.  Tracks like “Hillcrest” are catchy without being obnoxious, and those like “Running Away (Leave The Light On)” are infectious without feeling the need to fill a stadium or induce a dance party.  In other words, such songs tap into a tried and true formula.

However, with remarkably strong contemporaries like the aforementioned Broadway Calls and The Wonder Years already feeding those looking back fondly at 2003, Stuck Here Forever feels destined to be outplayed.

But for a good album I’ve been very critical.  I’ve contextualized it on every relevant nexus, and come across as a skeptic.  Truth is, The Spacepimps are one of the good guys, and Stuck Here Foreverdeserves play-time from any fan of early 00’s pop punk.  And while the album will likely drop off most playlists in a fews months in favour of stronger offerings, The Spacepimps are a safe bet, if only for a while.