“Bumper Sticker Poetry” is a debut album by Friends With Boats, an excellent international band from Hannover and Vancouver. The group released “Don’t Care,” “Bumper Sticker Poetry,” “The Point,” and “Wrong,” four superb compositions that vividly showcase what you might expect from their first full-length. Soundwise, Friends With Boats nurtures such a mesmerizing, ear-appealing, catchy, memorable, engaging sound based upon the fundamentals of melodic punk rock music. Of course, you’ll also notice how some other different but complementary subgenres found their way into this sonic equation, so don’t you be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from melodic hardcore, hardcore punk, skate punk, orgcore, or pop-punk. These profoundly creative musicians use all these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift their comprehensive collection of catchy punk rock songs to an entirely new level without straying off too much from the initial sonic direction. It’s also good to mention that these folks successfully merge modern sound with more than necessary nostalgia, nineties melodic punk rock and skate punk in particular, shaping such an engaging soundscape that grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go even after the last notes and beats end. Therefore, these experimentations with many different but complementary music genres resulted in a marvelous debut that will resonate with the broader underground punk scene and beyond.
With the initial notes and beats of “First Of January,” it becomes apparent you signed for the tremendous sonic ride. These folks spare no punches when it comes to performing hypnotic, addictive themes, melodies, harmonies, and other sonic maneuvers. At first, you’ll think this is another pop-punk track but Friends With Boats almost immediately switch to the fast-paced rhythmic structures, chunky low-ends, and an entire barrage of catchy riffs that immediately grab attention. The vocals sound divine from scratch to finish, delivering confident shouts but with more than enough melody included along the way. It’s an excellent opener that carries many anthemic singalongs and hooks that keep you interested in the remainder of the album until the end. “Friends And Family” slows down the pace a little bit, but it still carries that anthemic singalongs that keep you motivated to throw your fist in the air and shout alongside the band. It’s a perfect mash-up of American streetpunk a la Dropkick Murphys and early noughties orgcore music, skillfully assembled to suit even the pickiest listeners. “Wrong” continues at the same pace but with even more impressive guitar works. You’ll hear how the interplay between rhythm and lead guitars shapes such a perfect backdrop for all the vocal articulations to shine upon. The excellent, cleverly assembled, flawlessly performed chord progressions and riffs resonate on one side while the other delivers incredible themes, melodies, and harmonies. In the meantime, the equally complex, audible, chunky low-ends rumble beneath all these guitar layers, providing more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while the drummer keeps the remainder of the band in line with steady beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics.
Friends With Boats brings back skate punk music on the map with the “Dysfunctional” one of the unquestionable standouts of this material. There’s a thick layer of melodic hardcore and hardcore punk elements lurking around, but the band included more than enough melody and harmony, so they achieved a fine line between these styles. The title track delivers a more pop-punk-oriented auditory experience, but with recognizable Friends With Boats signature moves added along the way. Their ability to break all the rules, shapeshift the boundaries, and deliver a fresh, unique, diverse, and versatile track is vividly hearable on this one, proving that all these longevous punk rock subgenres can still sound like they appeared on the underground scene yesterday. “The Point” harkens to those late nineties and early noughties vibes, with more guitar interplays included in each segment of the song. Still, the bass guitar steals the show here with all those heavy, powerful, semi-distorted low-ends rumbling beneath all those guitar layers. It’s good to mention that the rhythm section plays an equal role to the remainder of the band. If the guitars provide an adequate backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon, the rhythm section undoubtedly acts as a backbone, holding everything together. It’s an impressive track fully stacked with some of the best instrumentations you’ll hear in a while. “Projection” demonstrates their knack for assembling technically demanding tracks where their progressive ideas and musicianship don’t ruin the melodic, harmonious ambiance. They perfectly balance everything, thinking about even the tiniest details and nuances. The vocals shine on this one, with enough aggression and melody included to emphasize all those instrumentations.
“Currency” delivers another serving of catchy, memorable, engaging melodies, harmonies, and other sonic maneuvers that define Friends With Boats as the band. There’s a vividly hearable power pop and pop-punk undercurrent lurking during the verses, but the band seamlessly transforms into the raging beast during the choruses, where the entire band sings the heart out. “Don’t Care” dives even deeper into pop-punk waters, but only during the short overture. The band gradually builds the atmosphere by bringing their anthemic sound up front, with the tight riffs and soft melodies fighting for dominance. In the meantime, the bass and drums provide groove, dynamic, and warmness, serving as a counterbalance to the guitars. This magnificent album ends with another melodic hardcore banger, where the band lets all their passion and energy through an incredible, marvelous, fast-paced track that lasts something more than two minutes. It brings only the finest properties of this brilliant band, and it’s a perfect closure that forces you to spin this collection of songs all over again.
“Bumper Sticker Poetry” is an outstanding melodic punk rock album that vividly showcases all the passion, heart, and soul of these creative musicians. Friends With Boats included all their experience, knowledge, skills, and talent, shaping a comprehensive collection of highly engaging songs that will immediately resonate with the broader punk rock community. It’s a must-listen for every true punk rocker who loves a good old combination of anthemic hooks, catchy melodies, tight riffs, and groovy drumming parts. The album is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
Thoughts Words Action 