CAPITALIST KIDS, THE - At a Loss (LP)
The Capitalist Kids third album At A Loss brings the early 90s Lookout Records sound of The Mr. T Experience and Green Day into a modern day arena of sociopolitical awareness with catchy as shit results! Nothing can worm its way into your head like a perfectly crafted pop tune. Attach a message to that tune and you've just found a way to get some serious points delivered to an audience it won't likely shake too easily. I'm not sure if this is a mission the band is actively pursuing or if they simply wanted to write some lyrics to some songs with something more to say than, you know, "I'm in love with so and so and it's so sweet!" Intentional or not, I think it's awesome that The Capitalist Kids have created a bunch of songs that could just as easily be the soundtrack to a teeny bopper sock hop or serve as a guide on how not to be a totally shitty, uninformed human being in 2014. But please don't be misled to think love songs were omitted entirely from At A Loss. They most certainly were not. What kind of pop punk album would be complete without at least a few of them? The big upside here is that The Capitalist Kids are also great at stringing together tunes about the love, happiness and upsides in life that exist in spite of all the fucked up shit. Love it or hate it, there's something here for everyone!