Sometimes sheer enthusiasm can take you a long way. With bands it can often show that there is potential to go further, or it can just mask the fact that perhaps a group has peaked at a fairly low level.
The Hung Ups have used their enthusiasm to produce 10 tracks of high tempo pop-punk that, although racing along at a breakneck speed, gives a hint that if harnessed and maybe restrained a bit could help them rise above the myriad of similar bands around. It may be early to say how far they could go, but across this self-released album they demonstrate that they've got the tunes, they've got the leads and they've got some lyrics.
Kicking off with "Going to the Party", the tone is set early on for ripping guitar and tuneful leads, all slightly reminiscent of one of the pop-punk legends, Screeching Weasel. There is enough snot here to block up a plethora of noses, and that's the key to why I like the release. It's not overly produced; it's got an element of DIY, even in these days of Auto-Tune and all the other fancy pieces of software available to âassist' with recording music, which makes me believe in these kids (I'm guessing that I'm probably old enough to be all of their fathers!).
As you'd expect, there are songs about girls ("Plastic Girl"), skateboarding ("Speed Bomb") and pizza ("Crisis at the Pizza Store")–three things that appeal to many people across the world and typical of this music genre. Some of the songs are beginning to stick in my head even after a handful of listens, so it shows that the Hung Ups are on to something.
If you like pop-punk, then I would suggest that this is certainly more fun than listening to the recent Queers release. It's got a spark to it that ignites the brain and engages the listener for a rollercoaster ride of poppy punk. Nice!
From looking at the bands MySpace page, it would appear that this is their second album release in the past 12 months. Now I need to seek out that first album.