Album Review: Stay Ahead Of The Weather - 'We Better Get Goin' If We're Gonna'

Chicago based band Stay Ahead of The Weather features Even Weiss of Into It. Over It. On vocals and guitar, Nick Wakim of Castevet (CSTVT) on drums and Bobby Markos of Native on bass making the band somewhat of a super group, with being barely a year old and recently signed to No Sleep Records the band have come out with their 5 track EP ‘We Better Get Goin, If We’re Gonna’.

The EP opens with ‘Get Old or Die Tryin’ it launches you straight into their indie/pop punk sound and shows that they band know exactly what they are doing, The fact that these guys are all from different bands, the chemistry and collective sound is what sticks out here, it sounds like these guys have been playing together for years. With its great guitar riffs and drum beat this first song is a great opener because it makes the listener want more, as does the rest of the EP.

The following song ‘Impressions and Impressing People’ has the same feel as its predecessor with its unique pop-punk sound with hints if emo guitar work in there not unlike drummer Nick Wakim’s band Castevet. And the lyrics are as good as the music, you won’t find any overly cliché and corny lines on this record, unlike a lot of pop-punk music out there these guys create some memorable lines such as ‘you’re not punk, and I’m telling everyone’, lines that stick in your head. After the 1st two songs being of such great quality, it makes the listener only imagine what the band has next to show.

And it comes in the form of ‘Sorority Social Suicide’ and ‘No Sleep Till Humboldt’' two outstanding songs on a very high standard album, this is pop-punk at its best, and I don’t think that we have quite heard it done the way Stay Ahead Of The Weather does it. The album finishes with ‘Butchering a Back Catalog’ it comes in heard with great guitar work and some great vocals and lyrics. In 13 short minutes it’s over and it definitely does not seem long enough, with their indie/pop punk sound the band has created a great collection of songs here, it shows that even though all members play in different bands that this is not at all a just side project. The only downfall I can place, if any, is that the songs flow together like they could all be one song, with the album only lasting 13 minutes the songs can sometimes sound very similar if you listen to the record straight through from start to finish.

With the pop-punk scene so full in recent times its refreshing to hear Stay Ahead Of The Weather’s unique Chicago pop-punk sound add that together with the great songs on this EP and the somewhat of a super-group line-up this band is definitely one to keep an eye one.

1. Get Old Or Die Tryin’

2. Impressions & Impressing People

3. Sorority Social Suicide

4. No Sleep Till Humboldt

5. Butchering A Back Catalog