Tuesday 12 December 2017

First Base - Not That Bad

First Base stick to what they know - bubblegum punk - because they’re very good at it. If it sounds like they can dispense two-minute pop songs with ease - and it does, these songs are effortless, carefree and fun - then remember it’s taken them 4 years to follow their debut album and there have only been a handful of singles in twice that time.

If writing pop songs was as easy as First Base make it seem then everyone would be doing it. The template is pretty much unchanged since, well, whatever you think the golden age of rock’n’roll is. First Base’s template is early Beach Boys, Fresh by the Raspberries and the first 5 Ramones albums. 

So there are - of course there are - songs about girls (Judy, Sandra), but First Base really nail their aesthetic with a love song to a guitar (This Guitar Of Mine) declaring with utter devotion that “she sounds like trash but she’s always right by my side”. 

They even make a bid for Eurovision powerpop glory with Ding Dang Dong. Pop music doesn’t really get much more simple and joyous than this.

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