On January 30th, Cascade Riot will be releasing their EP, Life on Venus. They’ve already released some singles, but I was lucky enough to get a chance to listen to the full EP.

So right off the bat their first song. “P.N.C.” sounds like a Green Day song that I’d hear on early albums like Kerplunk. Much like the Dookie release, “Longview”, this track seems to be about lack of motivation. This is a super fun track, and I could see myself back in 1991 skate boarding the fuck out of this and just singing along to its super catchy chorus at a show.

The next song, “Cobwebs”, still sticks to the pop punk vein, but sounds much less like Green Day but still like a tune that I’d have heard on Lookout! Records comps or even Asian Man Records. The vocal harmonies are big and powerful and hard to not enjoy—not that I’m trying not to. Ooooh dug that little fast riffage at little past the halfway mark. Fuck yeah. Lyrically the song seems to also touch on motivation in that the singer can’t seem to get moving and the cobwebs of their stationary position are metaphorically holding them back.

“Chasing Stars” has a rad ass intro that builds and brings us into the verse punctuated by staccato guitar riffs and topped by earnest and powerful lead vocals. I’m really digging the bassline in the bridge to this song and the tasty drum fills too. Hot damn they held onto that last vocal note! Lyrically this seems to be about the longing for a special someone that you haven’t met yet which I think is something we’ve all felt at some point in our lives.

“I Don’t Want to Fall Asleep” picks up the pace a bit. Definitely feel the rockage more with this one, and could see people pogoing throughout the song. I heard some more really rad bass fills in here that were just sick. Oh yeah and then there’s the rad part where I could see everyone clapping their hands right before the break at which point everyone would jump and then start dancing their asses off. Lyrically, this seems to be about laying in bed without being able to put your thoughts away, so you spend the whole night thinking about anything and everything and nothing all at the same time.

The final track, “Wall”, is their fastest track yet. Has more of an MxPx feel to it musically and the drums have that drum beat that was really popular on early Fat Wreckchords releases. Totally dig the bridge again—they do seem to have a talent for rad ass bridges. Lyrically this one seems to be about an outside force preventing your from breaking through to reach your goals or breaking through to getting to know someone in a deeper way.

This is definitely a fun pop punk release, and I’m hoping they get around to doing a full length on vinyl, so I can crank that shit up at home.

Here’s their most recent official video:

Since I love live punk rock, here’s a rad video I found of them:

Check them out on Spotify or on my Punk Playlist

Also follow their socials: TikTok, IG, Bandcamp, Twitter, FB and Linktree

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Want to mail a vinyl for review? Message me at dcpcbooking@gmail.com for the address

No tapes and no CDs, I can’t play either of them.