The title track to this EP seesaws between craving social drinking with friends and pushing everyone away so the narrator can drink alone. I suppose it’s a fairly common back and forth fight with your own brain, which is pretty evident in the lines: “I’m so sick of drinking by myself / No one likes a fucking downer.” Then they also say they hate their friends, but they’re too lazy to get new ones. So it’s a bit of apathy with a side of social anxiety—which is not always paired well with alcohol—though it definitely always wants to hang out when you’re bummed. Listening to “Dear Beer” makes me think a lot of Dillinger Four’s “Fruity Pebbles,” which used to be my go-to song for drinking alone. At first listen, I really didn’t like this EP very much. It’s super polished and everything is perfectly on point. Not a hair out of place. It definitely put me off at first because it’s so sugary and calculated pop punk. But the more I sit with it, much like passing time with a pint and your own thoughts, it starts to become more familiar and enjoyable. It’s certainly got a producer’s touch all over the tunes, though I know that’s not always a bad thing. I even kinda enjoy “Polluted Skies” for reminding me what it’s like to live in L.A.—too hot to keep your windows closed, yet too fucking loud to keep them open at night. If you like super saccharine, innocuous pop punk (who are not the female version of TBR! I get so sick of seeing that comparison!), pick this one up. Maybe even get it put into the jukebox at your favorite dive for those nights you’re drinking alone. –Kayla Greet (Fat)