If you feel that the Touchdowns’ new album The Movie The Ride has a ’90s sound, it’s because that’s where the band’s origins lie. The 2025 reincarnation of the band features founding member and singer/songwriter/drummer Ryan Magnuson, Nick Colby (Ultimate Fakebook), Aaron Swenson (Lizard Brain Trust, Podstar), and Cameron Hawk (The Gamits), but still has a carbon date firmly in the ’90s. It’s a mix of alternative pop, geek rock, and pop punk (alternative power pop?) that’s relatively polished, quite crunchy, and extremely melodic. A song like See Me Shakin’, which did well on college radio as a standalone single in 2024, would have fit very well on those My Records Happy Meals compilations. The Stereo is another band that comes to mind, as does early Foo Fighters. Fun throwback stuff, really! Out now on Dumb Ghost.

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