Direct Hit! - '#4'

“FUCK YOU! GET PUMPED!”

That’s how Direct Hit! opens their fourth EP, which is also named #4. This is a group that does not mess around. Given that their style combines Latterman and Bomb the Music Industry! with a dash of Goldfinger’s pop punk leanings circa Open Your Eyes, the music pretty much demands forthrightness. What listeners get here are four jams about youth and rebellion.

“Snickers or Reese’s (Pick Up the Pieces)” kicks off the EP with the above quote, and the music lives up to the fierce introduction. The topic is people who can’t get along (Ain’t that always the problem?). The chorus is so infectious though that I’m secretly glad that frontman Nick Woods’ friends suck. “Snickers” is undeniably the highlight, although track two, “Monster in the Closet” is a solid second.

After “Snickers,” the energy begins to dial down ever so slightly. Woods’ delivery gets more nasal on “Choke,” making the Goldfinger comparison more apt, although that’s meant more as observation than criticism. “In Orbit” fires off one more punk rock round with a ton of gang vox. It marks another slight sonic shift, this time recalling the posi-pop punk leanings of The Wonder Years or Fireworks. Perhaps it was a deliberate choice to do combine these four songs - #4 should sound cohesive to most folks, while those willing to pay enough attention should note the subtle variety between the tracks. Or maybe that’s how that songs came out and I’m trying too hard to explain these very awesome party jams. Either way, #4 is the bee’s knees.