Album Review: My Pal Trigger- There's Hope In No Tomorrow

 

Personally, I love garish, clashing color schemes like this, so I for one think this album cover is awesome!

Year Of Release: 1996

Label: Second Guess Records

Lineup: David Browning (bass, vocals), Thomas Ellison (guitar, backing vocals), Jack "Butts" Criswell (drums, backing vocals)

Genres: Pop punk, emo-pop, noise pop

Tracklist

1. Sharks Don't Sleep (2:30)

2. The Better Part Of Yesterday (2:02)

3. This Quiet Earth (2:54)

4. The Sometimes Slave (2:09)

5. Cooper 454 (2:41)

6. Last Bad Situation (2:15)

7. How To Grow Old (3:26)

8. Two Miles From Nowhere (3:46)

9. Good Riddance (3:37)

I haven't exactly made my love for '90s punk, hardcore, and emo a secret. It was an incredible decade for all kinds of music, from grunge to gangsta rap to shoegaze. But the punk/hardcore/emo scene especially was a delight, with many of my all time favorite albums coming out of that scene. And when you're into that kind of music as much as I am, you're bound to discover a lot of obscure artists that have only been heard by approximately twelve people. My Pal Trigger is one such band, a band with very little info online, a band very few people are even aware of.

My Pal Trigger is one of several bands I discovered thanks to some kind of association with Discount, just like Cigaretteman, The Fosters, Pohgoh, and Combination Grey. While researching Half Fiction to find out what year it actually came out (conflicting sources say either 1997 or 1999, I eventually came to the conclusion that it was 1997), RYM user bloopy pointed out that it was released on Kat Records, same as My Pal Trigger album Lessons In Ancient History. They also toured A LOTwith Discount. While checking out their RYM page, the deliciously gaudy cover art for the album of the day immediately caught my attention. I decided to check out a few of the songs and wound up loving them. Eventually I listened to the whole damn thing, and now I adore this album!

Florida had such an underrated, yet vibrant punk scene in the '90s. It's no surprise that three of the albums I've reviewed are all from Sunshine State bands. Photo courtesy of Ashtray Monument.

Like countless poppy emo bands from the '90s, My Pal Trigger definitely worshipped Jawbreaker, and you can tell when listening to this. However, don't be a silly goose and assume that There's Hope In No Tomorrow is just some 2nd rate ripoff, because there's plenty here that sets them apart from the pack. While the Jawbreaker influence is undeniable, they also have their own style quite unlike anything else out there. In fact, whatever similarities they may have to other bands, I actually haven't listened to anything else that does everything this album does, not even the followup album. Simply put, No Tomorrow is far more distinctive than you might think.

For one, when listening to this album, I think you'll be surprised by just how noisy it actually is. While raw, lo-fi pop punk isn't exactly unheard of, this one is especially abrasive, like the green side of the sponge. Like a deceptively sweet lollipop, coated with strychnine. This is a scuzzy pop album, drowning in feedback. It feels like they recorded this over the phone, directly to a blank cassette tape. And you know what? It's fucking awesome as far as I'm concerned! And my opinions are the correct opinions, so you should trust me on this.

Backwards hats are still cool, I don't care what anyone says! Photo courtesy of Discogs

I suppose if you really want to nitpick (if you're a crybaby), then I'll admit, the vocals, uh... well, they're not very good from a technical perspective, sounding flat and off-key. Kinda like when I sing in the shower! But in my not-so-humble opinion, the shitty vocals just make the experience stronger. Paired with the harsh, no budget production, the amateurish vocals give this album a certain kind of scrappy charm. This is some killer ramshackle pop punk in all its messy glory. And besides, the singing is earnest, which is what really matters in an emo band.

But at the end of the day, this is still a pop punk album, so don't go in expecting fucking power electronics or anything like that. It's still melodic as all hell, with catchy jams that will no doubt drive you friggin' nuts with how long they'll be stuck in your head, like the waltzy "The Better Part Of Yesterday" and the frenetic, energetic "The Sometimes Slave." And the album holds some serious emotional weight, tackling issues such as loneliness and the bitter feeling that things will never get better ("This Quiet Earth"), or reflecting on how shitty and meaningless your life turned out to be, and drinking to cope with your regrets ("How To Grow Old"). But My Pal Trigger definitely saved their best for last, with the final two tracks being the biggest standouts. "Two Miles From Nowhere" slows things down, and the melancholic melody perfectly nails the "this town sucks" vibe they were going for. And closer "Good Riddance" is relatable for all of us who ever had a shitty job we hated, keeping the slower, sorrowful playing of previous track, with a killer baseline to boot.

Fuck it, just listen to the full album! This particular version contains bonus track "Cemetery Gates," a Smiths cover.

Simply put, this album quickly became one of my favorite obscure pop punk albums. Hell, one of my favorites in the genre, period. While not everyone will be pleased with the overall lack of polish, I personally think it's great! It straddles the line between accessible and challenging, at once both tuneful, and a little rough around the edges. And it speaks to the anxieties many of us face or have faced, capturing the essence of being dissatisfied with life and realizing that things don't always turn out the way you hoped they would when you were younger. There's Hope In No Tomorrow is a damn fine album that shows that there's more to '90s pop punk than Green Day and Blink-182, as much as I love those bands. I give this my highest recommendation.