Written by Jennifer Moglia
On September 18th, 2020, Chicago pop-punk band Knuckle Puck released their third full-length album, titled “20/20.” Appropriately titled for the calendar year of 2020, but also referring to the prescription for “perfect” vision, this serves as the follow-up to 2017’s “Shapeshifter” and their 2015 debut, the pop-punk classic “Copacetic.”
With this album being released in such a strange time in the world, from the ongoing global pandemic to the ongoing fight for racial justice, the band wanted it to serve as an escape of sorts for their fans. Guitarist/vocalist Nick Casasanto elaborates, “We went into this album wanting to make people feel good about who they are and not upset about who they aren’t. There’s so much to be angry about right now, and rather than contribute to it, we wanted to give people a reason to feel good. I want people to want to listen to this record.”
The album opens with the titular track, “20/20”, starting this musical journey off with a huge burst of energy. There are tons of catchy, “buzzword”-y lyrics, my favorite being “everything is temporary”, setting the scene for an album about change, but the good kind, and the kind that makes you excited to be alive.
Next up is the lead single, “Tune You Out”, released back in February and performed on the band’s tour with Heart Attack Man, Anxious and One Step Closer in the pre-pandemic portion of this year. Vocalist Joe Taylor really shines on this one, showcasing his range in the varied delivery of each lyric, all on top of a booming, energetic instrumental.
“Sidechain” immediately caught my eye due to the title’s relation to “Shapeshifter” fan-favorite, “Double Helix”, both connected through their use of DNA-related terms that some of us may remember from freshman year biology. One of my favorite things about this album is how big and bouncy the guitars sound on nearly every song, and this track is a perfect example of it.
The fifth single released from this record, “Earthquake”, is a fun, upbeat track about unabashedly loving somebody and telling them at every chance you get. As far as pop-punk “love songs” go, this is definitely one of the most memorable ones of this year, if not of the past five years.
My personal favorite track on this project is definitely “RSVP”, the second single which was released in April and accompanied by the album announcement. The opening guitars never fail to make me smile every time I hear them, and the catchy verses and chorus are super easy to follow along and sing to, making it pretty close to pop-punk perfection.
“Breathe” features Derek Sanders of Mayday Parade, and was the third single off of “20/20”, but not before it was performed on the aforementioned winter tour earlier this year. This song is just super fun and danceable at its core, with calming and reassuring lyrics that are hugely reminiscent of earlier tracks like 2015’s “Untitled.”
The record’s fourth single, “What Took You So Long?”, released in late July, has another upbeat instrumental, but with some more introspective lyrics this time around. The lines “Nothing good ever comes with your eyes glued down to the phone / More numb with every other rhyme / High strung syncopated lies / What you were searching for / Was here the entire time” in particular send a very clear message about the obsessive relationship most people have with technology and their phones in the year 2020, and how there’s often a lot that we’re missing out on because of that relationship.
“Into the Blue” definitely feels like a classic Knuckle Puck heavy-hitter, with swinging verses that lead into a slower chorus, both of which blend together perfectly. The lyrics look at wanting to let go and escape from something, to “fall into the blue”, with Taylor questioning, “could you help me feel infinite?”
Things slow down a bit with track nine, “Green Eyes (Polarized)”, which reminded me of “Wait” off of “Shapeshifter” right off the bat, another song with a softer instrumental but lyrics that still pack a punch. “20/20” comes to a close with “True North”, a high-energy song that feels perfect to close a live set with, and “Miles Away”, which will definitely grow to be a more emotional one for fans, with heartfelt lines like, “you were right here all along.”
As a whole, “20/20” is best described as a more mature, refined version of the Knuckle Puck that we all discovered back in their Warped Tour days. They hold on to their classic pop-punk lyrics as a base but are able to expand on those ideas that they introduced on their debut album and early EPs, creating a piece of art that will remind fans to live for the here and now, simply enjoying life as much as they can while they’re still here.
So, maybe “20/20” isn’t about having perfect vision after all, as the title may suggest, but about feeling like your life is perfect for you, and not for anyone else. In a world where, in the year 2020, it’s very easy to want to live up to impossible expectations and live your life to please others, let Knuckle Puck’s third record serve as a reminder that, at the end of the day, no one has to be happy with the way you live your life but you.
“20/20” is available to stream wherever you listen to music, and you can keep up with the band by following them on Twitter @KnucklePuckIL. You can support them by picking up some merch related to the new record, including vinyl, CDs, shirts, hoodies, mugs, and more, available on the band’s site as well as their Merch Now store.
Have you listened to Knuckle Puck’s new album “20/20” yet? What do you think of it? Let us know by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!