Album Review: For The Kids! by Much Better

Much Better are a three piece band from LA. In April the band released their third EP, For The Kids! I first discovered Much Better during an evening of checking out new bands on Bandcamp and was quickly impressed with their passionate take on the pop punk genre.

The EP begins with Only Everything. The track starts with some fun, jangly guitars before some startling vocals come in and really grab your attention. I think the best way (and perhaps the laziest) of describing the vocals is to say that they’re similar to Jeff Rosenstock’s, melodic shouting style. The way in which they’re delivered is perfect for shouting along too. They instantly make you feel involved in the song which, for me, is always important. I loved the lyrics in the chorus – “I think we unlocked the meaning to life, but we were both pretty high, so I forgot the logistics.” Up next is the just over one minute long Hocus Pocus. I was surprised when I saw the song’s length as it feels like it’s much longer. That’s not meant in a negative way, there’s so much going on it’s impressive that Much Better managed to squeeze it all into such a short space of time. The song opens up with a stabby guitar part and a pounding drum beat that goes on throughout the song. There’s a dirtiness to the tone of the song but it comes alive when the vocals come in.

Leftovers does that wonderful thing that many pop punk bands do with taking a song that’s really sad and turning it into a celebration. This helps anyone who’s going through a similar thing to relate and realise that they’re not alone. It’s a cathartic feeling that is very good for people. Leftovers is about dealing with the breakup of a relationship and trying to get out of old habits and traditions. The track features a lengthy breakdown section that splits the song into two. This adds to the emotion of the song, making you realise that the singer is really heartbroken. The final track, Year To Year, shows that Much Better know how to finish an EP. It starts out in quite an epic fashion with a building intro that leaves you feeling suspense for when the tempo shifts up a gear and the vocals come in. From there, this is exactly what you would expect from Much Better – except everything feels bigger. When the chorus comes in with added harmonies, they really had me. It’s a simple technique but such a powerful one. Towards the end of the track there is another shift in melody. Starting slow and then building, we get the most intense version of Much Better and the EP finishes with a big flourish.

For The Kids! feels like the kind of release that I could keep going back to and finding new little intricacies that I really love. Much Better are a band with a huge upside. Brilliantly crafted pop punk songs that have fun, witty and meaningful lyrics, plenty of moments to sing along with and it also feels wonderfully fresh. Get on this quick.

Stream and download For The Kids! on Bandcamp here.

Like Much Better on Facebook here.

This review was written by Colin Clark.