Cincinnati’s pop-punks Alex Kasznel & the Board of Directors are one of my favorite discoveries of 2023. After the beautiful debut single Landlocked and the successful first album Everything’s Important & Nothing Matters, they are already back with the 4-track Parachute EP, worth it again. Alex Kasznel (guitar, vocals), Heather Sampanis (bass, vocals) and Brian Tull (drums) now embrace a fuller sound, but memorable wordplay and appealing melodies still are their main strength. The friendly musicians effortlessly live up to the warning from opening song Prescription Cigarettes: “Y-y-you got this song // Stuck in your head // It goes: dada-dada-dada // Dada-dada-dada-dada.” Just like in the title track, influences from power pop, alternative rock and pop-punk come together here, adding a dash of ska in Like a Pushpin to a Water Balloon, and then slowing down with the introspective ballad Sixteen on Center: “You’d probably call this emo bullshit.” If that were true, there are enough “La La La’s” on this record to compensate for that.
Parachute, produced, mixed and mastered by Eric Tuffendsam, is out now digitally and on 12″ vinyl through Air Quotes Records.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
Pingback: Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of March 2024 - Add To Wantlist