McBain are Ame, Ale & Enri from Italy (Milano), who formed in 2015 out of a shared love for old school pop punk and The Simpsons. Having released their debut album Revenge in 2017, they took a different route with the follow-up. Hard Being Us consists of three EPS that were released throughout the year. Each of the EPs showcases the perspective of one the band members. It’s a cool endeavour fully in line with the punk ethos which values both individuality and a sense of community.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of this project is how similar the three EPs sound. It’s way more consistent than I expected, but in a good way. It illustrates how well the interests and ideas of each band member are aligned. Expect short and fast pop punk bursts – the total playing time of the 15 songs is 20 minutes. Check out my favorite track of each EP below.
Hard Being Us is released in a highly limited run of 66 hand printed 3-CD boxsets. Artwork by Luca Loreti.
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