I admit that I’m not familiar with the Pop-Punk scene as a whole, however, my intro to Punk in general came during the mid 80’s when I found out my favorite Metal band Metallica were huge fans of the punk outfit “Misfits”. After delving in that arena, I dove into the sounds of Hardcore with bands like Cro-Mags and Agnostic Front, amongst others. I didn’t really acknowledge Pop-Punk until the 90’s when groups like Blink-182 and Green Day (to a certain extent) started to gain notoriety. Ever since then, the genre has flourished to where it is today, immensely successful.
One band that has gotten my attention is a Central Florida quintet named “Suck Brick Kid”. The members include Grant Tchekmeian on vocals, Dan Valery & Arturo Matamoros on guitars, Hayden Cler on bass and finally Danny Strong on the drums. They dropped a self titled EP last year and I must say that it’s incredibly SICK! The EP boasts 7 tracks, each anthemic and catchy in it’s own way.
Musically, they’re a cohesive group with the duo guitarists Dan V. and Arturo attacking in synchronicity while the bassist Hayden and drummer Danny S. easily keep pace to expand the voracious sound; the vocalist ultimately being the last piece to the puzzle. Being a huge fan of gritty vocals rather than uber-clean singing, Grant’s vocal and lyrical ability tend to pay more homage to Punk Rocks’ earlier roots, and that I respect.
As a collective, SBK show far more flare and prowess than most seasoned vets in this genre. In other-words, they know this game and set their sights high within it. Particularly in its riff-heavy, rough-and-ready exterior with a perfect balance of mostly fist-pumping vibes and introspective vocals. The quintet are every bit as promising as upcoming acts in pop punk’s ever expansive universe. No track goes over 4 minutes in length so, there’s no drawn out feeling to the EP. Each track flows seamlessly from one to the next and the production is supreme. In all, this self titled release is fantastic and will get those who give this band a chance, something to look forward to in the near future. Please support by checking them out here: https://www.facebook.com/suckbrickkid/
Bless, Cypher73
