As we enter the home stretch for this Holiday season, I'm finding myself looking for stuff that would be good to listen to with friends. Back when I didn't have much else to do other than cruise around in the back seat of a car with a bunch of dudes and smoke and complain about nothing/everything, I used to listen to a ton of pop punk and alternative rock. When I see friends now, it's mostly at one or the other of their houses, and we mostly talk about family and our jobs (and anime), but we still listen to tunes, and some of them remain dedicated pop punk partisans. This year, I think I'm going to try and get them into Baseline. The band's new EP Landfill is a pretty good entry point, I think. They don't have a huge catalog, so I don't have much choice, but it's an album that has some big, rangy hooks in it, it also dives deep into watery distortion in the same way the Title Fight does, but with more fidelity to the massive gutsy outbursts and gliding grit that made Local H, Lit, or Silverchair so infectious in their heyday. Baseline. is making a very punchy kind of punk that folds well into the toetapping-to-humming-to-shoutout the choruse-pipeline of alternative jams that took over rock radio in the mid-90's. Especially when it comes to the "(they should have stopped at) Blade II" drunken shifting build and sluggish windup and letdown of their chord progressions which definitely has a Lit by way of Toadies kind of feel. "Left Behind" on the other hand, leans more into the libations-swilling, nuggie-dispensing, org-core that you'd expect from a Florida punk band and Fest lineup contender, while closer "The Room" splits the difference between a more mature and reflective portrait of punk pontifications and a buzzy careening, crash landing. It's good for reminiscing and making new memories alike. Now, if you excuse me, I have some friends who are waiting on me to grab a drink with them. 🎵 It's the most wonderful time for a beer. 🎶
