photo courtesy of Skyway

EP Review of Skyway: Time to Be Alive

On Time to Be Alive, Skyway delivers fun, energetic, throwback ’90s/’00s pop-punk, offering up a collection of songs that would fit comfortably among Green Day, New Found Glory, and Good Charlotte on your enthusiastically energetic playlist. The band’s promo material touts its “nostalgic pop punk sound, featuring tight harmonies, catchy earworms, and plenty of singalong moments.” I don’t disagree with any of that.

image courtesy of Skyway

Now, I’m a little picky when it comes to punk rock – a little less so when it comes to the more pop-friendly punk that emerged in the ’90s, but I’m still a relatively harsh in my assessment. Of course, that might not be readily apparent at the blog, since I only share music I love, but I require tunefulness, hookiness, decent musicianship, and engaging vocals before I’ll even listen twice to a punk act. The vocals part, in particular, seems to be hard to find in a male-led punk act. The comparable famous bands in the previous paragraph, though, ticked all of my boxes. And so does Buffalo-based Skyway. This is an exceptional EP, sure to be a welcome addition to any pop-friendly-leaning punk rock fan’s collection. Indeed, I’ve been really digging getting familiar with these energetic, catchy tunes!

photo courtesy of Skyway

EP-opener “Marie” kicks off with a hooky guitar line, energetically diving into its first verse, quickly leading to its first singalong chorus: “Marie, Marie. Marie, Marie.” OK, so the lyrical content resides in the verses and bridges. In any case, this fun romp will get you pumped up. And if you’re looking for a slightly lesser-known comp, there are elements of this song that specifically remind me (a little) of Floor Space’s “Glass Dreams.” Regardless, “Marie” is a cool opening track, a great intro to this energetically fun five-song EP.

“Uncrumpled,” next, add a little more power and velocity to the mix. It’s a thumping, high-tempo rocker, a fun romp that features very Weird Al-ish vocals. (Do you hear it, too?) I’m also pretty fond of the rawly tuneful guitar solo, something even more impressive when you realize Skyway found time for a guitar solo in a song whose entire runtime is less than 2 1/2 minutes.

photo courtesy of Skyway

“Wishing Well” is, to me, probably the most Green Day-ish number on the disc, at least in energy. The overall sound is very uniquely Skyway, but the smash-and-crash music in the intro, verses, and bridge are very Green Day-reminiscent. The chorus, meanwhile, is more like you’d find in an alt-pop-rock number, kind of raw and gritty but also tuneful.

From the opening “woo-hoo-hoo,” “Scars” marks its own territory, uniquely different from the rest of the EP. You want nostalgia? Well, I hear hints of Bowling for Soup. Do you? Regardless of influences – and Skyway’s sound is chock full of ’em – it’s a damn fun rock song.

The EP closes – much too soon, I might add – with the raucously rocking “What a Time to Be Alive.” A power-pop-rocker to the very end, this song will leave you happily out-of-breath by its conclusion.

photo courtesy of Skyway

From beginning to end, Time to Be Alive is a fun record, packed with nostalgia-inducing, energetic, original pop-punk that calls upon the genre’s giants for influence but is packaged into a wholly-identifiable Skyway sound. If this is your genre of choice – or even if it’s a musical style of tangential interest to you – Time to Be Alive is an EP you need to hear, and Skyway is a band you should follow.