girlfriends are currently on tour with Avril Lavigne. A lofty prestigious slot for a relatively fresh faced band indeed. But with their new EP Over My Dead Body, it's easy to see why they've been given the job of supporting the queen of pop punk herself.
The first track on their newest EP is the previously released, ‘Life’s a Brittany’. This track has a slightly slower start that begins to ramp up as it goes on, creating a constant calm mood with extra sounds such as high-pitched jingles. This song encompasses the bands overall pop punk energy, with a sound not unlike bands such as Waterparks. With a bitterly humorous tone – one to be expected- softer acoustic guitars and an almost 2000s esque style, providing a nostalgic throwback, ‘Life’s a Brittany’, is a wonderful start to this EP, and one that hints towards it’s collective enjoyability.
Next up, the title track itself. With a slightly faster and harsher sound, one albeit still wholly accessible, this track is the perfect fun breakup song, using classic palm muted guitar progression in the first verse to build suspense underneath the vocals. This song stands out in particular for the unique chorus entrances and slick drum fills. It’s somehow savage, hilarious in thanks to it’s commentary and heartfelt all at the same time. Colourful and bashful simultaneously, there’s no wonder why the EP bares the namesake of this track.
The next song is named ‘Talk’. Starting with a slightly electronic intro that reminds us of music like TOOPOOR, ‘Talk’ is full of bold guitars and strong vocals giving it a simultaneously buzzy and clean sound. This track is definitely one for singing along to at parties. It’s catchy and clever with a loud sound, slightly reminiscent of some of the pioneers of the modern age of pop punk. Proceeding is ‘Plastic’ with its strong rhythm section creating an energetic and lively sound to accompany the fast-paced vocals. Much akin to ‘Talk’ it feels reminiscent of Green Day with a more poppy glamorous feel whilst still keeping that punk, alternative, waterparks atmosphere. An upbeat track to continue taking us through the EP.
Finishing off the EP is the breakup song ‘Thanks Anyway’ with faster drums and an ever so slightly changing beat. The vocals haven’t wavered throughout the EP, holding strong and this track keeps true to that. Overall, whilst the EP doesn’t necessarily vary or stray from the pop-punk pastures the band all home, it doesn’t intend to. Full of the classic, if not slightly contrived hallmarks that define the modern pop punk sound, it’s easy to see how Over My Dead Body have jettisoned girlfriends into the upper tiers of the pop punk hierarchy. Whether they can maintain this position remains to be seen though.