Lawsuit Models - Unknown Ghosts LP

Motorcycle Potluck / Snappy Little Numbers (2022)

Anyone in need of a bright and shiny pop punk record to help jolt you out of the doldrums of day-to-day life?  I'm always looking for something like that and Lawsuit Models deliver that with gusto.  Unknown Ghosts is their second full length album, following up 2018's excellent Off The Pavement LP.  I really dug that album, but this new one hits me even harder.

When I wrote about Lawsuit Models in 2018, I compared them to a Peach Tree era Pollen.  For this new one, I can still hear that a little bit, but the band that more immediately comes to mind this time out is The Stereo.  In particular the way The Stereo sounded on their first album, Three Hundred.  It's got the big, crunchy guitars for sure, but the vocal melodies are what really take it over the top for me.  Just listen to the way they sing "co-o-o-matose" on the album's second song and then try to convince me it won't be stuck in your head for the next six months.

The whole album is full of hooks and melodies like that.  Super catchy stuff, with just the absolute tiniest hint of a Tom Petty-esque twang hear and there.  Ands that's not a complaint or a detriment.  That's very much a selling point as it adds a slightly rough-around-the-edges authenticity to things, even though the production on the record is somewhat slick overall.  In summary: this a great, fun, upbeat, catchy, energetic record.  The raised the bar from their debut and have easily claimed a spot in my list of best records of 2022 so far. 

Lawsuit Models - Unknown Ghosts:
https://motorcyclepotluckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/unknown-ghosts

Lawsuit Models - Off The Pavement LP - White w/ Green Marble Vinyl

Snappy Little Numbers (2018)

I've said in the past that Snappy Little Numbers has become one of those really trustworthy labels over the past few years.  It feels like nearly everything they put out is fine tuned to appeal directly to me.  Lawsuit Models is no exception to this.  It's another great album filled with big hooks and 90s style rock tunes.

The thing that immediately jumps out as a comparison point for Lawsuit Models is the band Pollen.  Especially the later, Wind Up records album Peach Tree.  While musically, they are somewhat similar, each having a knack for crunchy guitars and simple, but extremely catchy riffs, it's really the vocals of one of the singers that evoke the memories of Pollen.  There is a slight rasp, not to the extreme like a Frankie Stubbs, but one that evokes a warmth and a familiarity that allows the lyrics and melodies to really sink in.

There is another singer whose vocals lean towards a more straightforward punk rock delivery, but they're no less effective and these songs give the album a jolt and keeps things dynamic and interesting throughout.  If it isn't obvious, I really dig this record.  These guys may not be on your radar, but they really should be.  Particularly if you're one of the dozen or so people that picked up Pollen CDs out of the $2 used bins during the 90s.

Lawsuit Models - Off The Pavement:

https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/off-the-pavement

Lawsuit Models - Dudeman 7" - Red Vinyl

Snappy Little Numbers (2015)

Somewhere along the line the word pop-punk turned into a criticism as opposed to a description.  These days, I feel like if you call a band pop punk you're somehow insinuating that you shouldn't be taking their music seriously.  It seems a bit silly to me as I've been know to take pop punk pretty seriously myself.  You should feel totally fine calling Lawsuit Models an awesome pop punk band and know that the band should take that as a compliment.

These guys have put two songs down on this 7" that take me right back to 1995.  You want a catchy hooks?  Both songs have them.  Want some of that palm muted, chugga-chugga, start/stop guitar work?  That's here too.  Octaves and guitar leads? Check and check.  You could just run down the list of everything that makes for a great punked out pop song and Lawsuit Models always seem to fit the bill.  Vocally, they remind me of a slightly smoother Paddy from Dillinger Four, though the songs in general are more upbeat and lean towards that 90's West Coast sound.

Snappy Little Numbers has done it again.  They always send me records by bands I have never heard of and miraculously they're always good.  Very few labels have that kind of track record.  I really dig this 7" and I'm hopeful the band is already hard at work mixing up some more pop punk greatness.

Lawsuit Models - Dudeman 7":

https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/dudeman-b-w-hot-garbage