The fifth Hospital Job is here, their first since 2018. And after all the crazy shit that has happened in the past eight years, it is strangely comforting to hear new music from a band that sounds exactly like… Hospital Job. Or, more broadly, like something Luke McNeill is involved in.
McNeill lives and breathes this particular corner of pop punk, or poppy punk rock. If he isn’t playing it with The Copyrights, Starting Line and Robot Bachelor, he’s recording it with other bands. He once summed up his musical philosophy pretty well: loud guitars, big choruses and lots of hooks. There isn’t much more to add.
The familiarity is a strength on 1000 Places To Die Before You See. McNeill clearly holds the songs that make it onto his records to a high standard, and the new one is a strong listen from front to back. Its themes of getting older, losing people and possibilities, and trying to find something worth holding onto are heavy but relatable, and the big group vocals make you feel like we’re all in this mess together.
The years haven’t always been kind to us lately, and it is nice to have Hospital Job around to direct our attention elsewhere for a while. Loud guitars, big choruses, lots of hooks. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
LP available at Rad Girlfriend Records.
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