Review: The Practice Run – “First Draft”

Mom’s Basement Records, 22 Aug 2022

First Draft is a pretty good Practice Run for the new band.

There’s lots of pop punk bands out there aping 90s-era Lookout! Records and the like.  I mean, I write about lots of them because I love the sound so.  Mostly, the goodness of the albums comes down to the quality of the songs, not any sort of clever or interesting innovation, and that’s a-okay.  Sometimes, the songs or albums become a sort of “spot the influences” game that can be fun or infuriating.  But once in a while, a band seems to just check every box of the pop punk formula and in the process, provide a blueprint for pure pop punk bliss.

On that note, let me introduce The Practice Run.  The band features Patrick McVay (of The Putz, Parasite Diet, Ghost Party, Spacenoidz, and others), Chad Shick (of Covert Flops), and Gabe Usery (of Horror Section, Dan Vapid & the Cheats, and others).  That’s a pretty ridiculous start.  I love every one of those bands.  But then I looked at the tracklist:  8 songs (that’s a-okay), but 5 songs stretching past the typically dreaded for me 3-minute mark, and three of those past 4 minutes and another past 5.  I have a well-documented antagonism towards that type of thing, so all of a sudden, things trended a bit more ominously.

Then I started actually listening to let go of my preconceptions, both good and bad.  Leadoff song “Aeonian” has some of the most gorgeous backing vocals I’ve heard in a bit, coupled with fantastic lead guitar that persists throughout.  And the lead vocal melody is at once nostalgic, melancholy, and uplifting.  It won’t leave my brain.  I don’t know that I’ve ever said so much good about a 4+ minute pop punk song in my life.  Anyway, clouds parted, sun is starting to shine through.  “Life’s So Funny” is another long one (the 5+ minute song), but it’s again loaded with melody and enough structural variation to leave me surprised when it ends “so quickly”.  That brings us to “One Man Band”, a mid-tempo pop number with some great lead guitar and an “I don’t wanna be a one man band” vocal melody that is as singalongable as you’ll find.  It’s a terrific song.  I didn’t even notice it to be a cover, originally released by country band Old Dominion – it fits in that well.  “I Always Knew” has bounding Tigger-like energy without sacrificing melody – both through the vocals and lead guitar.  And again, the backing vocals are fantastic.  Easily the fastest song on First Draft, it is a shot of untempered adrenaline smack in the middle of all the other great pop nuggets.  

In the second half, “Thinking of You” and “Enjoy It All” feel like twin songs sorta – I mean, both back-to-back songs time out at 4:44 even.  Both are mid-tempo songs with some muted guitars and lead vocals that are okay through the verses.  And both hit their stride on the choruses.  Supported by the ever-recurring great backing vocals, the choruses are feel good catchy monsters that kinda feel like they could come from a great 80s power pop album.  Oh, and the harmonizing guitars on “Enjoy” are spot on.  “Nothing To Do” is another melodic winner and closer “Magic” has a pretty slow pop to it and the backing vocals support the verse miraculously.  When the chorus hits, it sounds oh so right.  In a lot of ways, this whole album reminds me of the Spacenoidz album, but, ya know, without the Gundam theme – and that’s a wonderful thing.

So I guess, the moral of the story is actually a conclusion I land on every once in a while and forget in the interim:  If the songwriting is good enough, even an album heavy on the 3+ minute songs can hit right.  Thanks for the reminder, The Practice Run.

Favorite song: “Aeonian”

Favorite moment: the lead vocal melody on “Aeonian” drives me crazy – in a good way

Favorite whatever else: I love the melodic chorus on “Magic”; it feels like something that’s existed forever