Review: The Hype Pathetics – “Alright”

Self-released, August 7, 2020

The Hype Pathetics do a sloppy fun pop punk thing, and they’re pretty good at it.

Denver’s The Hype Pathetics new EP Alright finds a band treading familiar territory but making it work pretty well because of the songs.  I can’t figure out any obvious precedent to what’s going on here, but I do hear a sort of late 80’s/early 90’s Lookout! thing.  If I really reach for a comparison, I’d say think of Moral Crux maybe (minus so much political angst).  Not sure why, but if I had to guess, maybe it’s the song structures, the melodies, and certain notes that hit right vocally.

Alright does three songs in nine minutes and does pretty well for itself in the process.  The songs on here have just a bit of slop and some gritty buzzing guitars.  “Six Pack” and “Heart Attack” both mess around with cool and edgy guitar riffs and both know how to use vocal cadences as hooks.  “Six Pack” ends up being really singalongable (is that a word?) and the spell-out of “Heart Attack” is pretty endearing.  Closer “Alright” is a mid-tempo song with some pretty decent hooks.  Something about this song reminds me of Moral Crux (the melody, maybe?) and the chorus simmers like a brewing revivalist gathering.  It’s pretty good.

The lyrics on Alright are mostly inconsequential.  “Six Pack”’s title kind of tells you what you need to know.  It’s a song about drinking beer to keep from thinking, really.  Kind of an “I wanna rock” sort of song with beer being what gets them there.  “Heart Attack” is similar, kind of digging deeper into the “do what I want” sort of thing.  However, closer “Alright” has a little more going on.  With lines like “You don’t ever ask me, how I’m doing” and “I think I’m doing better, all I want is to talk to you”, “Alright” seems like a sort of purging, an attempt to reconnect with someone that’s gotten away (physically, emotionally, or both).  It’s got a bit more depth to it.

Alright is a pretty fun and cool record from The Hype Pathetics.  It may not change the world, but it’s certainly something to hum along to.  They even show that they can hit on stuff a little deeper and maybe connect on a whole different level when they want.