ALBUM REVIEW: Optimal Lifestyles – Pkew Pkew Pkew
With their debut album, Canadian punks PKEW PKEW PKEW won plenty of fans with their party loving take on punk rock. Now they are back 15 more tracks of brilliant punk with their second album Optimal Lifestyles. This is an album that looks to capture the feelings of being a punk in your late 20s and having to adjust to where the world is at, and the results of this are pretty fantastic.
Optimal Lifestyles is an album bursting with energy. Whilst there’s nothing remotely game changing about it, this album delivers almost everything you could want from a punk rock album. Still Hanging Out After All These Years sets the tone for the album perfectly. This refusal to give up on ones youth and still get drunk your mates is no doubt something that many who listen to this album will have experienced.
A lot of it is clearly very personal to vocalist Mike Warne, however his experiences feel incredibly relatable. It looks at both the positives and negatives hard partying life of a punk in their late 20s which such brutal honesty. It’s his lyrics that really elevate the album. Musically it is a fairly straightforward punk rock album, which isn’t to say its dull. There’s so much raucous energy running throughout everything PKEW PKEW PKEW do on this album. With almost every track clocking in at under three minutes the album never settles on one thing for too long. There are a few slower moments to mix things up but for the most part this is just energetic punk rock.
In terms of standout songs there’s so many to choose from. 65 Nickels looks back on a toxic relationship and wraps it all up in a hugely catchy song. Skate 2‘schorus hook of “Shred until your dead or until you break your wrist again” feels like an acknowledgement of no longer being able to live the anarchic life of a skater but still not wanting to give it up. It’s Adult Party that is the albums strongest moment though. A defiant statement about settling for a dull life. It also contains the albums best sing along moment that will no doubt go down a storm live. Mike Warne encouraging everyone to shout “Rich kids go fuck yourselves” is easily a sentiment fans of this band can get behind.
Optimal Lifestyles is easily an album that will appeal to fans of bands like THE MENZINGERS, THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM and AGAINST ME!. It doesn’t rewrite the rule book when it comes to punk songwriting but it’s a honest and extremely witty album that is incredibly hard to dislike. It’s an album packed with so many great choruses that even if you aren’t a fan of this kind of punk, it could still worm its way into your ear.
Rating: 8/10
Optimal Lifestyles is set for release on March 1st via Big Scary Monsters (UK) and Dine Alone Records (US).
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