By way of ease, California indie combo
Super Whatevr have been effectively labeled as either emo-pop or pop-punk, but in reality the Orange County trio is a little tougher to pigeonhole. While their self-released 2017 EP, Good Luck, did have a healthy dose of existential suburban emo-catharsis, their full-length debut is a rangier animal, with forays into detached '90s indie, wiry post-punk, straight-ahead alt-rock, and a strange little intro that plays like an ethereal nod to
the Police's "Invisible Sun." Their first release for Hopeless Records,
Never Nothing sees singer/guitarist
Skyler McKee, bassist Thomas Waale, and drummer Luke Mensink firing on all cylinders from the dark but sprightly "Bloomfield" to the chugging bummer rock anthem "Telelelevision," building a restless energy that bubbles under even the more languid tracks like the lonesome "Advice" and "Kathrin with a K." That edgy, unsettling shimmer hangs throughout each of the 12 cuts, giving the production an immediacy to match
McKee's ragged delivery, which alternates back and forth between swagger and vulnerability. Well-crafted and markedly subtler than
Never Nothing's attack would suggest,
Super Whatevr pack plenty of care into their debut. ~ Timothy Monger