Welcome back fellow tourists! I hope you all didn’t miss me too much last week and that you all have been having a pretty good spring so far. Like many of you probably did, I went back home to the land of punk and brought back something that I’ve been enjoying for quite a while now for the Souvenir of the Week. I’m sure you’re eager to get right to it since it’s been over a week since the last souvenir, so this week’s souvenir is the Sorry Dudes EP by folk/pop punk band Not Half Bad.

 

 

Not Half Bad is from Forth Worth, Texas and was formed around December 2010 and their first release came out in 2011. Since then they have released 5 demos, 3 splits, 1 full length, and 1 other EP. All of their music is available to download for however much you want to pay, even $0, on their bandcamp and last year they put all of their music onto one digital album making the process all the more easier. Sorry Dudes EP is their latest release and probably one of my favorite releases of theirs.

 

The reasons why I really like punk and this band in general are practically the same reasons as to why I really like this release, the honesty and personal nature of the music. These aspects are what made me really fall in love with the music from my homeland of punk and with this band as well. All of the tracks on this EP tackle personal issues and feelings on various topics such as struggling to make ends meet without compromising your dreams, getting older, political apathy, and failing to really experience life. So obviously personal and honest lyrics are in every single song of  this EP, however they are especially so in the track You’re Alright. You Know That, Kid which discusses losing a father and how to cope with it.

 

Other than how personal and honest the lyrics of this EP are, I also really enjoy the gang vocals, how upbeat and solid the instrumentation is, and how catchy most of the songs are. My favorite tracks are You’re Alright. You Know That, Kid, Van Forever, Armchair Anarchism, and Three Things That Aren’t Jackie Chan. If you want to listen to some really solid punk music that has the good influences of pop punk and folk punk then this EP is for you. That’s about all I have to say, so thanks for reading and I’ll see you all next time.

 

PS – Click right -> here <- if you want to go to Not Half Bad’s bandcamp but are too lazy to type.

Photo credit: https://nothalfbad.bandcamp.com/album/sorry-dudes-ep

Original Punk Rock Tourist photo taken by Monique F.