NOLA’s Pears are still a baby band—having formed in 2014, they are now in their “terrible twos”—but they’ve quickly become the unofficial darlings of the punk rock world. Well, maybe it’s official now that they’ve signed to Fat Wreck Chords and delivered Green Star, their most Pears-y release yet. The sixteen blink-and-you-might-miss-’em tracks on Green Star are rife with catchy riffage, crushing metallic breakdowns, wonderfully weird interludes that would make Mike Patton proud, and existential musings so hard, they would break your hand if you punched them—just ask frontman Zach Quinn! It is difficult not to be seduced by the band’s off-kilter humor, insanely frenetic live show, and charming shitbag personas, but those who submit to their siren call will be rewarded, not punished. Pears may be the “hot new band on the rise,” but sometimes, the hype machine don’t lie. –Kelley O’Death (Fat Wreck Chords, [email protected], fatwreck.com)