The Scandals are one of the latest bands out of the amazing musical utopia that is New Jersey. Hailing from Bayonne, New Jersey, they formed in 2004 and put out this EP this year, which is free on their MySpace. It's sort of a promo just to get their name out there, but it acually is very good. A fast, brashy melodic punk, it is fairly entertaining and sounds youthful. The songs have a fun, summer-like quality to them -- just look at the aptly titled "Summer Song." That song also names one of the band's main musical influences, from what I can tell from the music: the Bouncing Souls.

The EP as a whole is short and punchy: seven songs and a bonus track. All the songs sound sort of similar; that may be a good thing, just to show new fans what type of music that they play. I think that this music would be great to play out on the town doing stupid stuff with your freinds, to paraphrase Dante3000 in the Anchor Down review. Actually, Anchor Down is a very similar band. Melodic punk with lyrics that aren't wicked serious.

My personal favorite song on the EP is "Summer Song." It's so fun and catchy. It reminds me of, well, summer in my teens, just hanging out and fucking around. A close second is "To Youth," one of the songs that shows off the musical chops developing for this fairly new band. This riff is really cool, which is why I like it so much.

So, basically, the Scandals are a new band that are just getting their name out there. So, if you like Anchor Down, melodic punk, or are just bored of all your other music, give this a listen. You'll definitely at least feel like you're having fun.