Taking their name from an epithet hurled at Han Solo
by Princess Leia in the Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back, this band
of nerd rockers (made up of singer/guitarist Parry Gripp, drummer Steve "The
Cougar" Sherlock, and bassist Charlie Dennis) is now entering it's second
decade with all members intact, no small feat in its' own right considering
popular bands today go through more members than your typical McDonald's
in a six-month time span. Those who are fans of the band and have heard some
or all of their previous output are in for no real surprises here. The band's
nerdy sense of humor is intact, which you can gather from some of the song
titles on this new release: "Golfshirt (Part2)," (Stand by Your)
Manatee," "Led Zeppelin Rules," and "I'm Not a Loser" among
others and the band's sound is the same pop-punk they've been pushing for
years.
Those who love the band may find the band's sameness familiar and
welcoming, but those who are new to the group may find their allegiance
to '90's rock off-putting and cloying, seeing as other bands playing the
same
sort of pummeling pop-punk (say, Green Day) have matured somewhat and found
ways to advance themselves artistically while still keeping their energy
and Nerf Herder has not. Or, like veteran rockers AC/DC, the band could
just keep playing the same type of thing over and over, riding the ups and
downs
for as long as they can.
Surely, the band has the talent to do more, but
for better or worse the band doesn't seem to want to change up their
sound. If you enjoy Weezer and The Presidents of The United States and how
these
two bands sounded in the '90's, then you'll probably like Nerf Herder
as well though if you already have a couple of their albums, you probably
won’t
need this one. Just give their old songs new titles and you'll save yourself
fifteen bucks and pretty much have everything you need from them.
NERF
HERDER
