The Smoking Popes have been making Morrisey and Sinatra influenced pop-punk off and on for 20 years now. During this time a large percentage of their songs have been largely from the view of a broken hearted teenager but they've never made a full blown concept album until now. This is a Test is a 10 song cycle written from the point of view of a soon to graduate high school senior and if that seems odd coming from a group whose members are all closing in on 40 years old, the oddness dissolves almost instantly. There's no specific story, just an underlying theme of not knowing what the future holds and being both excited and nervous for what will come. Aside from "Excuse Me, Coach" (which may or may not have been recorded entirely on a casio keyboard) and the string laden closer "Letter To Emily" the Popes don't stray much from the tight, ultra-melodic pop-punk the band excels at and that's a very good thing. Try listening to "Wish We Were," "Punk Band" or "I've Got Mono" and not sing along. It's impossible.
Rating: 3.5
Track Listing:
1. "Wish We Were" (2:40)
2. "How Dangerous" (3:25)
3. "This is Only a Test" (3:39)
4. "College" (4:19)
5. "Punk Band" (2:46)
6. "Freaking Out" (3:41)
7. "Diary of a Teen Tragedy" (4:03)
8. "Excuse Me, Coach" (4:43)
9. "I've Got Mono" (3:27)
10. "Letter To Emily" (4:21)
This Is Only a Test
This Is Only a Test
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