Album Review: The Fashionably Late – “Get the Girls to Dance”
Posted: by The Editor
Summer is just around the corner and that means it’s time to pull out our favorite childhood records and forget about our worries. But what happens when those records start to lose their charm? Sure, listening to Warped Tour- era bands as an adult maybe isn’t as relatable as it used to be but what can you listen to now to fill that void? The answer is The Fashionably Late’s newest release, “Get the Girls to Dance”. Formed by emo revivalists and pop enthusiasts Frankie Serka, Angie Padua, and Joey Byrne, The Fashionably late is drawing the best elements of the neon pop era to give you whiplash back to “VH1 Top 20” days when all you had to worry about was how tight your jeans were. On top of sonically sounding in the vain of our favorite Fueled By Ramen bands, The Fashionably Late don’t shy away from their love for Disney rock that defined most of our childhoods. Remember when your favorite teen drama had theme songs made by the cast members (we know guitarist Joey Byrne is an avid iCarly fan – and we are too)?
The EP kicks off with an upbeat “Intro” that clocks in at just under two minutes with soaring snare hits, a catchy chord progression, and background piano key strikes (editors note – more bands need pianists again) that sets the tone for what’s to come. Bleeding right into track two, “California (Won’t Break Me)” feels like a callback to every pop artist’s culture shock song about the elusive state and not losing yourself. Frankie is heard singing with an auto-tune filter while Joey provides “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” sounding riffs that build up to the care free chorus where the title of the song is repeated, almost as a statement to themselves.
Right in the middle of the EP, is the lead single “Come On” which follows suit of The Cab with it’s punchy start/stop pre-chorus and slight key changes in the chorus. We’re still not fully convinced The Fashionably Late didn’t ghost write “Bounce”. Wrapping up the EP is “Gone Tomorrow” and “Talk Talk Talk” that perfectly tie in the 2000’s influences with a twist of their own on it to send us on our way. Clocking in at 15 minutes, this EP is one that every person who lived through MySpace days should check out and add to their summer joyride music rotation.
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Disappointing / Average / Good / Great / Phenomenal
You can find the record on your streaming service of choice HERE.
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Kyle Musser//@godvfwine
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