Sugarcult - Start Static

I saw Sugarcult at their first big show ever. Tim Pagnotta announced to the crowd that he had just quit his job at the mall so he could devote his life to the band. My brother and I stopped by their booth after their set, met the band, ate cheerios with them, and picked up copies of their 3 track promo. Later that summer they released Start Static and started getting some radio play as well as love from 13 year old girls. I don't know how I do it, but I've jumped onto a lot of bandwagons only to find that the wagon is manned basically by me and a bunch of barely teenaged girls. I think my interest in doom metal is a direct response to this connundrum.

Anyway, Start Static is a nice pop punk album that actually doesn't sound like it plopped out of the Drive-Thru Records cookie cutter. It leans a little more toward straightforward rock, which is fine by me. I remember this album came out pre-9/11 and the band had to issue a statement about not hating America with the song "Stuck in America." It's similar to what Jimmy Eat World had to do with Bleed American. Of course it all seems silly now. I'm pretty sure 4 white dudes who play pop punk in dress shirts and skinny neckties are not Al-Qaeda material. At any rate, this is a solid pop punk album and another fine example of how I very well may be a teenage girl at heart.