Side Eyes have something of a pedigree but I’m not going to detail it because this album frikkin’ rocks. Just listen to “False world”- all 29 white hot seconds of it. Since their debut album, which came out an astounding SIX years ago, Side Eyes have been increasing their speed and ferocity. They used to be sort of a throwback to the first wave of punk- all loose and frantic. Now, on What’s Your Problem, they are hitting with so much force they’re basically a neo-hardcore band.

The whole release is built off hard crankin’ riffs that have that Ceremony-style smash except for times like on the title track, which it breaks down into a Slayer-ish stomp. That’s rad. These riffs rock. Singer Astrid screams for pretty much the whole release, but she does keep a certain humanity in her voice- as opposed to barking for the sake of barking.

The band focuses more on social issues than political ones. Astrid snaps out at people who do a lot of talking without really having much to say at one point. At another, she talks about collapsing friendships. Sure, she’s angry a lot of the times, but the reason the anger is so effective is that it feels like it comes from a place of humane fragility. That is, Astrid isn’t pissed off just because it sounds cool- it’s a genuine reaction to things as delicate as, say, friendship. There’s a humanity and vulnerability n the vocals that’s organic and often, moving. I also like when she states something basically out of All-I-Learned-in-Kindergarten. “It’s not that hard to be nice! It’s not that haerd to be civil!” she admonishes.

At about 20 minutes, the release is over before you know it. If it takes six years to make twenty minutes like this, it’s worth the wait.