This is another album that slipped under my radar and was released last month. The 8-piece ska punk band out of Boston Massachusetts has a nice clean sound that is very reminiscent of third-wave California ska bands like Save Ferris, with clean horns and standard upstroke ska rhythms with the guitars. The album is a lot of fun despite some of the more serious lyrical content, and definitely easy to dance to, begging you to jump in and dance in the pit.
The lyrics and vocals on this album are great. The more times I listen to it, the more I fall in love with it. I have no idea how it slipped so far under my radar, and why I haven’t heard many people talking about Pink Slip- I’ve definitely started following them on my socials and won’t be caught off guard next time they release something.
This album starts off with “Play Nice”, which begins with a punchy 3rd wave sounding horn line, followed by a simple upstroke rhythm on the guitar, but the powerful female vocals dominate the song, and the message consists largely of “fuck you, I’m gonna be who I am and if you don’t like it, that’s your problem and not mine”. It’s confident, it’s bold, and I love it. The second half of the song features a nice instrumental section that ends with a gang vocal melody that shifts the melody and tempo to create a nice growth through the song to keep it interesting and fresh before it bridges back to close.
From here, the song goes into “Imposter”, which is a fun and upbeat song about feelings of inadequacy and imposter syndrome. The syncopated rhythm, the constant ups and downs, and the punchy vocals all make the song catchy af, but they are offset by verses that have a smoother melody that keeps the song from sounding gimmicky or redundant. I know we all suffer from imposter syndrome at times, but if Pink Slip is actually three frogs in a trench coat on stage, then I want to hear those frogs sing.
“The One That Got Away” is a much slower ballad that is complete with an epic ending with a rising epic finale. It’s the perfect end for the album because it both shows off some diversity and range and while it fits with the rest of the album, it would be impossible to continue with another track following this and not have it feel out of place. It’s exactly what you want from a closer- something epic that ends powerfully and leaves the listener satisfied and happy.
My personal favorite song on this EP is “First Communion”. The bass stands out for me in this song more than any other song on the album, the intro is really good, the vocals are great throughout the song, and it feels a little less third wave than the other tracks, we get a little bit of rock and roll guitar that feels like it fits perfectly with the song and adds a little more texture and not least of all is the relatability of the line “If I could do things differently, I’d fuck it up regardless”.
Seriously, this is a 6 song EP that begs for another 3-4 songs to fill out a full album, because it deserves it- but if the three or four more songs would have been filler then I’m glad they knew exactly where to stop. They sunk their teeth in and got me hooked. I can’t wait to hear what’s next!
Written by Gimp Leg
