An Honest Pop-Punk Single from AOA
The new single from AOA hits an outstanding blend of pop punk and alternative rock with a driving intro that comes right in, bringing with it a heavy-handed melodic approach but not without its thrashing essence and bright delivery.
One of the coolest things about this track is the guitar work. Straight up. The guitar work on this record is outstanding because not only does it come through in all these great layers, giving you the progressions and rhythms, overlaying hooks, and more, but by the second verse you're getting these cool plucky-feeling harmonies that are added in, and this brings something a little different to the table.
It gives the song a little bit of flare, and I really loved how they approached it.
The whole track is absolutely bursting with energy and gives you that thriving live performance sort of aesthetic at times.
This is a song that blends the elements of color and edginess damn near perfectly, and the vocals are as bright as the rest of the band.
The course of this track is absolutely classic, and the melody of it just sort of sticks with you.
I definitely dig how the whole thing packs such a punch but holds on tightly to its pop sensibility the entire time.
The drumming is absolutely killer, bringing in more of that punch but with a sound that just cuts through everything. The kick drum and the snare are just huge, and the performance is really high energy as well, so I feel like the rest of the band has a particular way of feeding into that.
You can definitely hear some classic pop-punk influence here along with some fresher ones like Blink-182 and bands of that nature.
The cool thing is, this is a track with heart.
This is a very honest single that comes from a very personal perspective and doesn't hold a lot back. It's pretty unafraid in terms of letting those inner thoughts out. It bounces around elements of loneliness and other kinds of inner and outer struggles, for that matter.
This was one of the attributes of the song I really enjoyed, simply because you have this high-energy, bright, colorful pop-punk banger, and the lyrics are so authentic and truthful.
This, coming to me, is an amazing combination and part of why the song really stands out.
The radio-friendly style. It feels like a pop-punk single that would be on the radio station anywhere from the early 2000s through right now.
That, again, is where all these classic influences come in. It feels like each different member of the band brings in their own influence to the table, and that's why when they come together to write songs like this, it feels somewhat familiar, slightly nostalgic, and with high impact.
This is because they have a love for their craft. Not just performing their instruments, but writing songs that have that heart.
Listening to the track absolutely makes you want to go see the band perform live. They're able to capture such a great energy into Static on record, so seeing them live would just be outstanding.
The single is called "It's Just A Formality", and it's well worth diving into, especially if you love wholehearted pop-punk or heavy rock that has a message to send or an actual story behind it that comes from a real place.
The single follows a few others released last year, both of which are amazing. They are called "Shut Up!", which has a slightly fierce sound and an amazing bass guitar tone, and "So Long for Now", which also showcases more honesty right from the very first line.
So no matter what, you're getting loads of personality throughout this band's set of releases, and I suggest that after you listen to this new single, you go back and check out the rest.
Take a deep dive into AOA now.
