review.

The Measure [SA] - Songs About People… And Fruit N’ Shit

I am going to be honest. This band gets to the point and that is how I am going to approach this review. In roughly eighteen minutes, this band approaches heartfelt pop punk tunes with the most sincere lyricism. This album of any was our “jam” to and from The Fest this year, I couldn’t tell you how many times it was listened to in those 40+ hours as well as the weeks following. For some reason, I can never just play one song out of the collection, I always have to play it straight through. I was first introduced to this album because it features the drumming of Mr. Mike Erg, whose work I always appreciate. But soon I found that I was connecting to the general nature of the band and not just the drumming. The alternating female and male vocals are definitely a highlight of this album for me. I obviously always have a place in my heart for female punk vocalists, but Lauren Measure really is something special. There is something in her voice that always tells me that it takes a lot to be saying the words that come out of her mouth. One really unique aspect of this album is that all of the guitars aren’t tuned to a standard pitch, just to each other. Which allows for a certain dissonance at times that I think works to their advantage in many ways. All these songs are quite anthemic in my opinion, making it hard for me to hold from belting out the whole record through. Seeing this band at the Fest was a great experience, even though I missed seeing my friends in The Flatliners, I wasn’t too upset, because I was really pleased with The Measure’s performance. The intensity of the album, to me, peaks with the words “Bury me where I live in the underground”. Something that I really respect about this band is that, the more I’ve been exposed to their history, is that they have always made a point to remain loyal to their fans and are content with their position in the “underground”. For every mainstream band, there are a dozen “underground” bands that deserve the attention, but not many can say that they are truly content in being a part of that scene indefinitely. There is definitely more to say about this album, but I love it so much that some times I think it is better served to be heard. I implore anyone who has an interest in punk rock, rock, pop punk rock, and FEMINISM (coughcoughyoureouttheregrrrrlsrule) to download this immediately.