Neighborhoods - Facing a Lifetime

Sometimes things in life just work out in some weird (albeit, hardly significant) way. This morning I was in a strange mood where all I wanted to listen to was New Found Glory. I don't even listen to NFG; I recognize maybe two or three of their songs, but that's not really the point. The point is that we've been slacking like crazy with reviews lately. Real life conflicts can be rather, well, conflicting. IT HAPPENS. So we decided that we definitely need to get a few reviews done tonight. Conveniently enough, 'Facing a Lifetime' by Neighborhoods fell into our grateful laps.

Upon having played the album, it became immediately clear that Neighborhoods were perfect for this weird NFG mood I was in. Neighborhoods play pop punk in the same vein as NFG, but with a bit more intensity and urgency. It also worked out well for the fact that I was unbelievably exhausted for no apparent reason. Now I'm awake. I think it may be impossible for this album not to completely wake a fellow up.

'Facing a Lifetime' starts off, after some random chatter, with a gang vocal shout of "HOODS UP!" This immediately reminded me of the Direct Hit! method of starting an album by shouting, "FUCK YOU! GET PUMPED!" It's an effective way to lead into an energetic batch of pop punk goodness, and trust me-that's exactly what this record is. You'll noticed pretty obviously similarities between this band and groups like Saves the Day, Handguns, and pretty much any other semi-dudecore/brocore pop punk band you can think of. The songs are rambunctious and infectious, and that's always something to be stoked on.

Neighborhoods are from the Jersey Shore, so I'm assuming that either understandable shame or unexplainable pride led them to a place in their lives where they were overcome this overwhelming need to create awesome music. I dont know. I don't care what caused it; I just care that it's awesome. Another awesome thing about this record would have to be the fact that it flies by. I love fast songs. Always have. I like when a song sticks around just long enough to do exactly what it was made to do. You won't find filler here, and that's always a bonus.

So, I think you guys should really check this album out. I know that there's a big part of our readership that's into this type of music, just like there's a big part of our readership that is pretty turned off by it. I don't care which group you fall into, you have no reason not to give this album a listen. It might change your mind about this sect of the genre. Maybe the genre will quit having stupid sects. It'll be awesome. You could change the very state of pop punk music just by getting into this band. You don't know. Okay, it's pretty unlikely, I'll admit. But whatever, the album is up on bandcamp for free streaming and you can purchase a physical copy of the CD over at Love & Death Records. Do one of the two; it's worth it.

-Idle

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Here's a video for the song Finer Things off the release!