via//chicago

np: "Summer Jam" - Set Your Goals

Guilty pleasure admission time - I've always had a bit of a weakness for the right kind of pop-punk, even though I've drifted away from it over the years. There used to be a point about ten years ago where I was familiar with pretty much every band that appeared on the Warped Tour stage, even if I only liked about a third of them. I've long since given up on following that scene with any kind of regularity, but every now and than a band bubbles up and grabs my attention. A few years ago it was Paramore (whose Hayley Williams actually shows up with these guys to, er, rap), rightfully so - it seems quite a few had the same revelation about them. This year its a six piece out of the San Francisco Bay area, Set Your Goals. I'm not sure that they are really even that great of a band, but a few of the songs from This Will Be the Death of Us hit me in the right spot. They are certainly much better when they shy away from the hardcore shouting and breakdowns and stick to the meat and potatoes pop-punk. Not gonna top any lists and I'm not sure they'll be memorable two years from now, but for right now - they hit my pop-punk nostalgic soft spot.