If I wrote the title to every J Church song ever written, really tiny, in ballpoint pen on my skin, that list would fill up my upper torso, at least. Bless Lance Hahn. Seriously. His uncompromised marriage to punk rock has taken him through better and worse, in sickness and in health. And due to the mere fact that J. Church is not only sticking to their guns when many of their peers believed that they themselves were deities, then declared the nuclear holocaust of pop punk; J.Church did DIY world tours and got progressively better. While I can’t say I celebrate their entire catalog, I do favor their shorter songs. “Near 600 Pages” is the perfect capsule of their power: catchy, sharp, dynamic, guileless, and wide-eyed/wizened-by-years pop punk. The Cars cover is guilty-good, too. Flamingo 50: Straight-ahead, lady-singing melodic punk from England. No screech or wail. Flamingo 50 make me think of my favorite shoes: well-worn and comfortable, smooth in the places that get a lot of action, and nothing fancy or precious; that makes me like ‘em even more. I look forward to listening to this split often.
–todd (Pizza Pizza)