Are you more likely to… Get some rest than go to a show? Spend your time off with your family than go on tour? Fill the recycling bin with cat food tins than beer cans? Then you’re probably a Pop-Punk Parent®, and this Totally Slow LP is definitely for you. Their first LP was a Frisbee-full of perfectly snotty and fast punk, and these North Carolina vets have beefed it up a bunch on Bleed Out. The production’s bigger—with concrete-cutting guitars and tree-toppling drums—setting the stage for more focused songwriting, which triangulates with Hüsker Dü and Toys That Kill. It’s powerful, pedal to the metal pop with a surprisingly mature bent. The lyrics nail the, “Welp, this is me… Oh, fuck. What am I doing?” feeling that has so far characterized my late thirties. Let this record sub in for that third cup of coffee next time you wake up at dawn for no good reason. It’ll treat you way better. –Chris Terry (Self Aware, selfawarerecords.com)