The state of New Jersey has been the epicenter for a plethora of fresh innovative bands in recent years. These bands have successfully seized various high acclaim, brandishing an alumni of wealthy acts such as I Call Fives, Major League, and Crucial Dudes (RIP). It’s evident that the scene within New Jersey is becoming more fertile with the way it has grown steadily while also suggesting ways in how it will continue to do so. Hailing from the aforementioned state, Yes Virginia is another example of these upcoming acts seeking to purvey the prosperity of the wealth of bands within New Jersey with their recent EP After Your Own Heart.
As the record opens with Me Plus You it’s evident that the band brandish material geared towards evoking nostalgia of a certain era of pop punk within the mainstream audiences - particularly in the early 2000s where pop punk was reeled in by major media figures cementing the status quo of the genre, acting as the default soundtrack to all teen movies. Me Plus You doesn’t prove to be the most engaging track on the record as a result fails to reel you in with its throwaway predictable melodies and formulaic song structures.
The first portion of the record fails to strike a chord as it prompts every cliché in the book that is synonymous with the topical nature of pop punk songs. This is only accentuated by the lacklustre lyrics, which is evident, for example, in Me Plus You and its opening words: “he held her hand as the night was growing colder, looked in her eyes, as he leaned over and whispered...”. Although incredibly catchy the track comes off as filler. The second track, Trophy Boys, is better, however also falls to the line of fire of predictability.
Musically, the band infuses the pop electronic sensibilities of Forever The Sickest Kids while also retaining a Patent Pending-esque charm. Yes Virginia is unsuccessful in playing to their strengths evident in the first three tracks of the record. The progression of the record onwards however shows the band stepping into a new rigour. Twenty Two is catchy and could support the accolade of the band as great craftsmen of melody, however again is repetitive in its formulaic structure. Leading on to the brightest moment on the record, I’m Not Impressed follows the surge of the moments of artistry on the record, where the track soars with an uplifting chorus and is triumphant in the bridge with “when push comes to shove, I’ll show you I wrote this to prove to you that, everything you said to me was never easy to take in because it was a lie straight through your teeth...”. Here frontman Danny Newell laces this sentiment earnestly as if he is enveloped by the disaster that can concur through heartbreak. Closer You’re Just Like Mondays, as the title suggests adds a hint of irony as it sits in-between the tracks through its grand poppy slopes. The song stomps majestically in the second verse as Newell declares with a sinister expression, “I’ll admit that your new-found love wont be enough, you’re just like fireworks light us up, blow us up”. The band then draw the record to the close with a breakdown which shows no sign of being forced and is bold accentuated by the crisp flawless production on After Your Own Heart.
Tracklist:
1. Me Plus You
2. Trophy Boys
3. Ten Twenty
4. I'm Not Impressed
5. You're Just Like Mondays
Rating:
Written by Aaron Akeredolu
