Barely March

Marely Barch (2018)

RENALDO69

Personally, when I think of Long Island punk, I think Taking Back Sunday and Brand New, being a late punk bloomer and whatnot. But what's most interesting about Barely March (the solo project from Chris Keough) is that, while he does address these roots, his style of power-pop/punk leans more towards Jeff Rostenstock and the new wave of acts he's influencing (here's looking at you Telethon, Chris Farren, etc). And it's in this vein, Marely Barch stands tall -- a record that doesn't take itself too seriously and like the other like-minded acts I mentioned above, is comfortable sitting in a jacuzzi of self-deprecation. 

I mean, there are songs on tap here that do have that old-school TBS and Brand New flavor to them ("thinking emoji"), but that new wave I mentioned -- and honestly it feels like the skin Barely March is most comfortable i, -- occupies the majority of the record. "corduroy" is a prime example of this, similar to what Rosenstock and bands like Rozwell Kid have been doing over the last few years -- bouncy, hooky and yes, emo punk, but done with the pizzazz that'll have dive bars of 20 singing along all night. 

Keough loves swimming in different pools though, and the synth-drive on so many tracks really highlights how unsafe he wants this journey to be. "nervous as i'll ever be" is a fine example of this, coming off like Max Bemis took Say Anything for an even more aggressive spin. Barrel down later on into the rough-cut acoustics like "live fast, cy young" and you'll wonder what broke Keough's heart. Then you'll build tons of stories assuming. But you know what, you won't feel bad because you can tell he'll come out on top.

Or probably end up beer-filled on the fucking pavement. I'd stick with the latter because Marely Barch celebrates self-defeat, and hey, we do need to acknowledge it first before we can overcome. One bit of advice: go more aggressive and hard-edged, because this particular sub-genre is kinda getting saturated. And I don't predict that'll be slowing down anytime soon. Nonetheless, a fun record that's perfect to get drunk to and prank call the love of your life. Well, this week, at least.