It takes until the chorus of "Basement Royalty," the fourth track on Broadway Calls' sophomore full-length, for the strengths of Good Views to come out in full force. But from then on things kick at a furious pace, and subsequent spins yield some of the catchiest pop punk this side of 1999. Broadway Calls have always written songs for kids that grew up with bands like Green Day and New Found Glory as their punk rock touchstones, working the premise that it was cool to go backwards and get into all the classics. But, holy shit, you probably won't ever love anything like you love the first Alkaline Trio record. Which is why songs like "The Sundowners" and "To The Sheets" work; they resonate with a powerful sense of honesty and a total lack of irony, being unabashedly poppy and wearing the influence of Dookie on their sleeve. While the production, courtesy of punk greats Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore, is a little too "everything huge and doubled," and occasionally makes the band sound less like old Alkaline Trio and more like the Starting Line, Good View, Bad News is a solid record of throwback pop punk that you probably already loved in another, larger-short-wearing life.
You've been touring relentlessly for years and writing primarily for yourselves and a small army of fans. Did the surge in attention the band started receiving in the last year affect the way you approached writing this record?
Guitarist and vocalist Ty Vaughn: We didn't really feel any surge in popularity until right before the record came out. We were working on it all last winter, and we recorded in March, so the newfound attention we are feeling now didn't affect the songwriting at all. I just tried to write songs that I like. As long as I'm happy, and my band-mates are happy, and my close friends like the songs, then that's all that really matters.
How was it working with Bill Stevenson?
Bill is an amazing man. He is legendary in punk music. Working with him was a dream come true for a band like us. That guy is one of the pioneers in the underground punk scene. Touring in vans, booking your own shows, playing anywhere that will have you and just scraping by to get to the next show, that was what Bill started and what bands like us continue today. It was really inspirational, both musically and personally, to hang out with him for three weeks and just listen to stories and make a record.
(Side One Dummy)You've been touring relentlessly for years and writing primarily for yourselves and a small army of fans. Did the surge in attention the band started receiving in the last year affect the way you approached writing this record?
Guitarist and vocalist Ty Vaughn: We didn't really feel any surge in popularity until right before the record came out. We were working on it all last winter, and we recorded in March, so the newfound attention we are feeling now didn't affect the songwriting at all. I just tried to write songs that I like. As long as I'm happy, and my band-mates are happy, and my close friends like the songs, then that's all that really matters.
How was it working with Bill Stevenson?
Bill is an amazing man. He is legendary in punk music. Working with him was a dream come true for a band like us. That guy is one of the pioneers in the underground punk scene. Touring in vans, booking your own shows, playing anywhere that will have you and just scraping by to get to the next show, that was what Bill started and what bands like us continue today. It was really inspirational, both musically and personally, to hang out with him for three weeks and just listen to stories and make a record.
