The Subjunctives – Let’s Try This Again

Seattle pop punk veterans The Subjunctives are set to follow up on their 2019 debut, Sunshine & Rainbows, next week with their sophomore album, Let’s Try This Again, that will be released via the usual digital outlets, Bandcamp and Top Drawer Records. But let’s rewind slightly, this is a band that already have a formidable resume from the members former / concurrent outfits which include highlights from my own collection in the shape of Sicko and Four Lights, as well as the lesser known (at least to me) bands such as Tales From The Birdbath, Date Night With Brian and Desolate Coast. The thought of pop punk may conjure up mental images of adolescence and a less serious approach to life than many of their predecessors, but pop punk is no longer new and the original bands that hit the crest of the punk wave as it broke are now in (or approaching) their fifties, does this mean The Subjunctives have grown up? The answer is sort of.

The Subjunctives are not Spring chickens, some of their members origins go right back to the dawn of pop punk, but this is not album that looks back with a wistful fondness, this is a band that is doing what they do for no other reason than they are still enjoying themselves. Song titles such as Goodbye I Will Not Miss You, You Dicks and What’s Up Fuckers? indicate that maturity is optional, especially when you find out Let’s Try This Again ends on a minute long recording of a practical joke during the recording (which I’m not going to spoil for any of you). But that is not the end of the story, the immature sits alongside songs that are honest and reflective about friendship and loss, along with the occasional backward glance, including a “rehashed” version of Sicko’s Believe.

There are some award winning song titles, references to punk legends (take a bow Henry Rollins, Doctor Frank, Greg Graffin, Milo Aukerman and Larry Livermore) and of course there is a high volume of songs contained within this disc / digital medium, with 16 of them crammed into just 29 minutes. What we have with Let’s Try This Again is a perfect follow up to their debut with a short, sweet and speedy album that is a massive contadiction, and I mean that in a good way. The music remains upbeat with their collective tongues wedged firmly in their cheeks, just as pop punk was back in the day. But there is also intelligence and reflection contained in here, the balance is perfect. Growing older does not necessarily mean growing up and The Subjunctives are living proof of this.