Scared20 – “More Punk Than Pop”
Scared20 is a three piece Punk Rock band out of Long Island, NY. They are currently one of my favorite bands. I recently got the chance to catch them live and they put on an amazing show. Each member of the band was energetic and animated on stage. The guys played their hearts out and kept the crowd going wild throughout the entire set! Scared20 just released their debut EP, “More Punk Than Pop”, and it is excellent! If you’re a fan of the classic Punk Rock style that used to dominate the music industry, look no further; Scared20 will be your new favorite band!
“More Punk Than Pop” starts off with R U F F, a song about not wanting to grow up. I instantly liked this EP because of the guitar intro on this very first song. It is quite reminiscent of a Blink 182 style song; something that so many bands try to achieve but unfortunately fail miserably. R U F F encompasses everything that I look for in a punk song; fast paced drumming, killer guitar riffs and relatable lyrics. “It’s nights like these, you just can’t waste, an adult life at a teenage pace. I’ll never learn, I’ll never break, let’s take a trip down old memory lane.” I especially enjoy the vocals of Andrew Arifakis. It is so disappointing when a band that plays their music so well is paired with a vocalist who sounds terrible (or was recorded terribly). Andrew Arifakis vocals sound exactly how they should; clear, strong and extremely catchy! Scared20 continues the EP with Something Stupid. I love this song because of the resemblance it has to Green Day during their “Dookie” days. The song has a quick guitar intro that leads into full band instrumentals, is only about 90 seconds long, and has controversial lyrics; Green Day to a tee!
By now you should have realized that Scared20 did an amazing job of paying homage to so many of their influences on this debut EP. The great thing about this is that they did so while still holding true to their own original sound! The band continues with Semi-Ordinary Girl, another song similar to that classic 90’s style vibe. This song is about being sick and tired of being in the same rut in your relationship day in and day out. It shows that waiting around for someone to change is futile. “A love struck guy should never have try to move the hills and the mountains, a love sick chick the feelings they will stick, you know your love’s a fountain. And I don’t wanna waste my time with you, don’t wanna do the things you do, I think I really need to think this through. And you, you wanna put your hurt on me, I think I’m starting to see, I might be wasting my…!”
Scared20 keeps the momentum going with Call Us Mad. Call Us Mad is the song that slows the pace of the EP a little bit. The song begins with a soft guitar riff, similar to one you may hear on a song from The Starting Line, and continues with amazing instrumentals that remind me of classic Good Charlotte. This song will hit any Punk fan right in the feels! The verses paint a picture of a struggling relationship while the chorus shows the optimism that the relationship can stand the test of time. “And call us mad, it’s not so bad, these are the best nights we’ve ever had, and every day I think about you all the time. We’ve come so far, it’s been so long, from nights spent on the phone at home, and when you’re not around I wonder where you are.” But, in the final chorus, just like most people realize in struggling relationships, it is struggling for a reason. “You left your scar, it’s dead and gone, we never even got along, and I still hate myself for writing you this song.”
“More Pop Than Punk” finishes off with Runaway Song and We Killed Punk Rock. Runaway Song consists of those addicting, fast paced guitar chords and drumming that every fan of the genre loves so much. We Killed Punk Rock is by far my favorite song on this EP. The entire EP is sick, but this song takes the cake. Scared20 showed no fear in calling out the current state of music and what has become of the “scene”. From calling out promoters who have difficult demands to meet to calling out bands that have shitty lyrics and instrumentals, Scared20 did not hold back! My favorite line of the song: “songs about your exes, you still think its cool, and how about the memories of dropping out of school? Meaningful words, as if there ever was, if you can’t come up with lyrics just sing some ‘na na na’s’, na na na na na na.” I hate when a band just throws a filler in during a song because they couldn’t come up with something original enough to be worth recording; I LOVE that Scared20 called them all out!
I am a firm believer that the scene is not dead and that truly awesome bands are out there just waiting for their chance to make this genre skyrocket again. Scared20 is 1000% one the bands that has the ability to take the genre and scene and make it flourish again. Their debut EP is one that will be talked about for a while and should be played on repeat! Make sure to follow Scared20 on all of their social media accounts, and check out their music on the blog’s Spotify playlist; After Hours Review!
Upcoming Scared20 Shows
May 10th – Amityville Music Hall, Amityville, NY (w/ Goalkeeper, Part Time Bear, Break Out Day, A Fighting Chance, My Kind of Fire)
May 26th – 89 North Music Venue, Patchogue, NY (Blacklist Collective Summer Series Kickoff w/ Times Like These, I Ignite, Off Guard, The Everafter)