the format

A New Friend (more later if you're I'm lucky) recently recommended The Format. Naturally, since I had never heard of them before, I was intrigued. Then he said they were opening for Fallout Boy (hiss) on tour soon...

But nevertheless, not wanting to disappoint New Friend, I checked them out. I was shocked to discover some smart, tolerable - nay, enjoyable - power-punk-pop. Good hooks without getting gimmicky or overly commercial. Perhaps just the right amount of angsty whine. (Okay, to be fair, they've had the benefit of seeing Dashboard Confessional wring that dishtowel dry...) Literate - if not demonstrably literary - lyrics...

Continuing a trend, I'll stab at a most-likely-bad analogy: they're like what Jimmy Eat World might sound like if the Postal Service couldn't touch an instrument but were in charge of all production. And helped write the songs, too, but only after a night of drinking and rowdy showtune-singing... Umm, and that's early Jimmy Eat World, for all you post-Bleed American posers.

The Format - She Doesn't Get It

Don't be afraid to like this song. The album is diverse...

Note to the Tiger half of this blog: I gave you Static Prevails in 1999, which I had claimed from the demo bin. I need to be cool for that.