06-06-2011

La vida película

I'm studying for my exams. That means I get to go through my music collection for days on end. Yesterday I was scrolling my iTunes upwards (starting from Nerf Herder, who got quite a few listens the past couple days (see previous post)), and my eye fell on the M of (The) Movielife.

The Movielife was a melodic punk rock band from around 2000 (a bit before and a bit after). They broke up and apparently reunited this year.
After the demo-stage, they released a subpar album called It's Go Time. Other than some fast music and bad production ther's not much to this record. Their sophomore output This Time Next Year has a better vibe. A better sound, a more particular sound which would later become a Movielife-sound and accordingly a more enjoyable listening experience. This band was a "precursor" to the whole hardcore/pop punk mix hype, cfr. Set Your Goals, No Trigger, Bangarang!, … but owes a lot to bands like Lifetime or Down By Law.

After a split record with Ex Number Five, the Movielife released …Has A Gambling Problem. And there it is. A distinctive sound, clever songwriting, catchy melodies and rememberable hooks. All of this while they still maintain a hardcore feel to the songs. Very strong and sometimes abrupt rhythms and a lot of shreds. Great EP, gets you toe-tapping and more!

Then, as a final effort before their break-up, they put out their pièce de resistance. Forty Hour Train Back To Penn.
Put out on renowned label Drive-Thru Records, this is without a doubt a classic album. The first 4 chords hit you like Jwoww hit The Situation in Atlantic City and from then on it's pogo time. Or whatever type of dance appeals to you. They made a videoclip for Jamestown, thus becoming one of their best received songs. The entire album stays interesting, though, with variations of tempo, some acoustic-ish parts, different song structures and meaningful lyrics.
Fact is: this album "[wi]ll give you a bang slap in the eye, if you follow me."* Ideal for singing along, great for studying to, better for not studying to, best for playing really loud. Yeah, I'm gonna finish as usual by saying to check 'em out, or recheck 'em if you know 'em already. If you don't you're missing out. If you do you deserve a high-five.

Hopefully they'll take the reunion to Europe.

If my mind's the weapon, my heart's the extra clip.

* Mansfield, Katherine. The Garden Party. (1921)

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