Live with them long enough and even the worst band names
start to seem reasonable. Still, it’s hard to imagine acclimatising to The
Front Bottoms’ chosen moniker – unfortunate, since they possess more nous than the
puerile name might suggest.
Five months on from their last Tut’s visit, the New Jerseyans
return to find latest album Talon of the
Hawk firmly committed to memory for significant sections of the audience – and,
in one case, fresh ink committed to skin in their honour (“last time we were
here she said she was going to do that” says frontman Brian Sella of the fan in
question, “and I did not fucking believe her…”).
With a glut of catchy choruses, an often-galloping pace, and
lyrics that mix flip humour with sincerity, it’s easy to see why the band has
been claimed by/lumped in with the Warped Tour-end of pop-punk. But they push
against the pigeonhole hard enough for it to crack, with echoes of The Thermals
in the The Feud’s ragged joyride, and even Why? in the vocal delivery of Twin
Mattresses. It’s only when they fall back on the genre’s quick-fix clichés that
their crossover appeal fades, but it’s nothing a setlist shake-up – and maybe a
re-brand? – couldn’t remedy.
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