Pretty Boy Thorson and the Slow Death / The Strait A's

Split [7-inch] (2010)

Brian Shultz

Pretty Boy Thorson and the Slow Death get one original song (and one cover) for their side of this split, and let the Strait A's add four tracks to make up the other. It's a relatively noble slab of pop-punk goodness.

Pretty Boy Thorson and the Slow Death come up with "Another Song About Phones"; it's got some forlorn, lovelorn lyrics, so its title is probably self-explanatory. The vocalist sounds like a cross between Mike Ness and the guy from Tenement, so the song's at least lent a remotely fresh perspective to yet another shoulder-shrugging bout of pop-punk frustration. They also cover Bay Area twee pop stars Go Sailor with "Ray of Sunshine"; it's quick and punchy, though sort of starkly played too.

The Strait A's close it quickly with a quartet of speedy and sugary, rambled pop-punk ditties. Think the Ataris' "The Radio Still Sucks" with more debt to pop-punk elders, twice the speed and co-ed vocals. They're not bad at first, but the formula starts to feel phoned-in by the time the dainty melodies of "motherfucker, fuck you" close out "I Said I Was Sorry." I kinda just want to put on I Don't Want to Grow Up at that point. Still, I wouldn't dismiss them completely based on these four.