Fluorescents – “Dead End Conversations”

October 23rd, 2020

Fluorescents is a Post Pop Punk band out of Chicago, Illinois. The band consists of Sasquel Exum, Bobby Guidi, Alex Klump, and Tyler Milka. At the end of September, Fluorescents released “Dead End Conversations”, their newest EP. This EP is exactly what the Post Pop Punk genre needed! Smack in the middle of an over saturated genre, Fluorescents were able to combine their influences to create an irresistible sound that you will fall in love with!

For anyone that has been following our blog over the past few years, you know that I typically state my favorite tracks on the project. “Dead End Conversations” is one of those projects where I don’t have a favorite because I LOVE every song. The EP begins with “In My Head”, an infectious Pop Punk/EZ style song that starts the project off with a bang! The initial guitar chord build up reminds me of and early Four Year Strong / A Day to Remember sound that immediately pumps up the listener. I’m a sucker for heavier tracks, and the aggressive guitar chords and drumming heard in the breakdown at the end is enough to make you start moshing wherever you’re listening!

The project continues with “T.A.S.T.”, a fan favorite according to the amount of streams on Fluorescent’s Spotify! This song encompasses everything that the band stands for. The band’s website states “Fluorescents challenges everyday Pop-Punk listeners to venture past the standard four chord melodies and tiresome cliches. Instead, they strive to offer a new perspective of unpredictable genre-blending & experimental song-writing. Taking influence from classic Pop-Punk, Midwest Emo and Modern EZ-Core, Fluorescents is sure to keep you on your toes with each release.” “T.A.S.T.” does exactly that! You can hear the Pop Punk influences of bands like Fall Out Boy and New Found Glory mixed in with heavier instrumentals, breakdowns, and gang vocals reminiscent of ADTR and Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! Now when you read that, you were probably thinking, “so what? A ton of bands try to do that”. But the key factor is that they TRY while Fluorescents SUCCEEDED in creating a fresh sound that isn’t the same melodic Pop Punk style!

“Dead End Conversations” continues with “Back for More” and “Not Another Pop-Punk Song”, two songs that carry the most “traditional” Pop Punk sound on the EP. “Back for More” starts with the familiar upbeat sound that we all know and love so well. If you’re looking for some nostalgic Pop Punk sounds, this is the track for you! “Not Another Pop-Punk Song” follows up next. This is a song that I instantly imagined crowds going wild to. The song is filled with heavy bridges between the verses and chorus, and lyrics that fans will be singing back at the top of their lungs! Fluorescents finishes the EP with “Dormancy”, the first single released from the project. What made me fall in love with this track is that I viewed it as the beginning of the shift of Fluorescents sound. Compared to their previously released material, this song came in heavy and helped bridge the gap between the traditional Pop Punk style and all of the member’s influences that can be heard throughout the album!

When they say Pop-Punk isn’t dead, they’re referring to Fluorescents. These guys saw the state of the scene, created a killer EP and carried the Post Pop Punk genre. Be sure to follow Fluorescents on all their social media accounts and stream “Dead End Conversations” on the blog’s Spotify playlist: After Hours Review!