Every skater/pop-punk kid has to grow up eventually and face some of the more uncomfortable questions about life. Nice Try Kid sound like they’re going through one of those states. And, while their punk-rock/hardcore contemporaries will likely have started writing songs as excuses to ask the heavy, depressing questions about existence, pop-punk has always endorsed the opposite cycle.
Adulthood hits late and hard for most fun-seeking punks. The vocal melodies in “Gray” are reminiscent of blink-182, but not the toilet humour phase of their career, but rather their Cure influenced excursions.
Wall of distortion guitars and military drumming adorn the heartfelt choruses. And, if, like me, you grew up around this kind of music, you won’t be able to help but feel an affinity towards Nice Try Kid.
