The latest EP from Kentucky two-piece pop rock band, As Good As It Gets, called Some Fantastic, is a love letter to the pop-punk bands we all grew up with like Weezer, Green Day and The Starting Line. While As Good As It Gets wear these influences proudly on their sleeves, Some Fantastic offers up some glimmers of a direction the band can take as they continue to develop their sound. Having formed in 2001, and releasing 3 EPs and 3 LPs during that period of time, As Good As It Gets are coming to terms for what works well for them, and they hone in on those elements on this record.
”Keep The Lights On” is a brash, pop-punk rocker that is in the same vein of punk rock bands like The Homeless Gospel Choir and Gob, while “Pushing Papers” finds the two-piece band adding in some well-placed piano/keys to expand upon their sound. The lyrical material covers the pitfalls of working a 9 to 5 job, and trying to make ends meet, all the while looking for those key parts of inspiration in their true love: music.
”Doom is Something in Your Head” has a great groove and bounce to it, as the band trade vocal barbs and harmonize often throughout the song. The crowd-pleasing chorus is very much in the style of pop-punk bands like Home Grown. “The Worst” showcases the nice, 4-chord punk rock of early Green Day, while album closer, “Are We The Stars” offers up a nice, starry-eyed ballad to close out the set of music.
As Good As It Gets are clearly inspired by classic pop-punk bands and 90’s radio-ready rock bands like Third Eye Blind and Matchbox 20, but they re-package their love of these genres into a nice collection of tunes that can draw in some new audiences of their own.