Self-released – 31 Jul 2020
Please perform this peak post-pop-punk perfection post-haste
2020 is a strange time huh? Well past the point in my life where I should be recommending a pop-punk or post-hardcore record to friends at playdates for the kids I stumbled upon the Hero Insomniac album from Knockout Kid. Here I am, supposed to be enjoying a fifth birthday party for a friend’s son but the tight musicianship and nostalgia the record sparked has me zoning out talks of virtual learning and masks to hum the walls of sound and hear the pop-punk angst in my internal voice at every opportunity.
From the aggressive but melodic opening riff of the title track this is an album starter that would make New Found Glory proud. “Hero Insomniac” is a swirling dervish from the jump a ferocious opener that sets the tone for the entire album, emotive lyrics, catchy melodies and the self-fulfilling catastrophes too often attached to optimism. “I’m all out of rope but I can hang myself on all my hope” is an album defining chorus, summing up the lyrical nature one should expect from the next 25 minutes.
The next track, “If They Want a Fight” is rife with the kind of anthemic singalongs and powerful breakdowns begging for live performances. This may be the biggest downside to Hero Insomniac, the lack of touring to accompany it. This is an album not only built for live crowds but openly clamoring for them; explosive, aggressive and the sort of album I’d cross state lines to see performed.
“No Son of Yours” ups the aggression from Knockout Kid with personal lyrics and driving drums before “Operation Counterfeit”cuts down the bands Knockout Kid believes are slagging off on the scene. “She Talks” is a brief glimpse into Knockout Kid’s ability to play things soft and subtle, but it is quickly followed by the more gutteral “Sentimental Disorder,” a banger begging for a circle pit to vent it’s boiling frustrations.
The album closes with the one-minute acoustic strumming “Dear God” before the fully contemplative “The Tragedy of Dying At Any Moment” a hauntingly reflective acceptance of our fate and love letter to those that we will want to see again after being shaken off the mortal coil.
This eight-track album is a near-perfect pop-punk or post-hardcore record but there is nothing boring or ordinary in the blending of these genres or the abilities of Knockout Kid. The Chicago outfit have to create something their fans can enjoy now, and also something to look forward to when doors can be unlocked and stages opened. Hero Insomniac may be the album that gives the most incentive for a return to normalcy, a world where we can experience the album live.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
