Summer Of Hoaxes
Little town, great stories

LA RECENSIONE

Pop-punk from the '90s has proven to be a very beloved genre in Italy, one of the few that hasn't undergone "traumas" despite the normal waning of media attention over time through a continuous generational turnover at the band level. Today it's the turn of Summer Of Hoaxes, a band from Bologna, who in "Little town, great stories" definitely shows they know how to pull it off. Their offering is a beautiful mix of recent and past elements, on one hand, a search for immediate yet non-trivial sound stories, and on the other, a strong will to entertain and enjoy themselves. Listening to it, one can easily notice references to bands that have made the history of the genre, like the Ataris for example - particularly in the creation of well-distinguished emotional scenarios within each song - but also the more sunny and party style side of Four Year Strong and The Story So Far, for example. So, we're talking about a band with their head on straight, who knows how to write great songs (see "Heartbreaker" and "Black sheep") but at the same time doesn't seem to settle for merely completing a routine school assignment by bringing something of their own. Musically, they make the Californian scene their stylistic reference, focusing heavily on sudden tempo changes and well-thought-out high melodic segments, showing care in giving life to each individual section without resorting to the classic copy-paste dear to many bands of the genre. Vocally, everything could be said to run smoothly, as both the lead vocals - which perhaps show a bit of struggle in the lower tones, like in the title track - and the harmonies are perfectly in sync with the musical offering. In short, a decidedly pleasant work, recommended to those who appreciate this type of music and with a cute artwork but with fairly obvious references (particularly reminiscent of what was proposed by Last Day Before Holiday and Ataris).