March 9th, 2009 
James Shotwell
Band: Freshman 15
Album: Throw Up Your Hands For One Night Stands
Genre: Pop Punk
Label: Standby
Tracks:
1. Phoenix Can Keep You
2. Thought of You
3. Our California Song
4. Count on It
5. She’s Everything
6. What are Friends For
7. When Cheating Had Feeling
8. My Favorite Songs
9. Are You Ready For This
10. The Truth About Liars
Oh pop punk, my first musical passion – it’s nice to see you again. After the overly marketed rise of synth and vocoder induced “pop punk” last year, it’s nice to see a return to form with Standby Records’ Freshman 15. Their debut record, Throw Up Your Hands For One Night Stands is a fun and intoxicating album that makes you feel as if your cruising in the July sun with the windows down and not a cloud in the sky. It’s a party album that’s not afraid to be blunt [lines like, “she’s a good lay, but she lies much better” lace the record] and I think a new sensation could be on the rise.
What made me fall in love with pop punk and subsequently music in general was the fun and real life injected lyrics that I could instantly relate to and that’s exactly what, “Phoenix Can Keep You,” the kickoff track [as well as the rest of the disc] delivers. Opening with the lines, “okay we get it, nobody’s as scene as you,” should radiate with any fan of this genre of music between the ages of 12 and 23. We all know those girls. The song, like many on the disc, talks about a breakup, but in true pop punk fashion [bitterness]. This theme continues straight on to the anthem ready, “Thought of You.” This track laces everything with some brocore ready chugs, but the vocals have much more power than most bands in that genre. I feel that this group will be given instant comparisons to All Time Low, and though they do have the youthful – we rock Glamour Kills – looks, the music is a lot different. Where All Time Low write these cryptic hooks and songs that don’t address many things directly, F15 isn’t afraid to call someone a whore, or simply lay their hearts onto the music. It’s refreshing to see such honesty in a young band.
I feel I haven’t touched much on individual tracks. Well, I can reveal here that my favorite track, “Our California Song,” will be appearing on a UTG sampler in the near future because it’s a soundtrack to your summer kind of song that will outlive the album by years. There is beautiful harmonizing on, “What Are Friends For,” which also resembles a New Found Glory so much that I had to look at y Itunes to double check it hadn’t switched over. The vocals shine all over, “My Favorite Songs,” which uses accents, staccato, and structure more perfectly than any other song on the record. Finally, the closer, “The Truth About Liars,” which is the typical acoustic closer, actually pulls the heart strings well. It’s not a simple, “o she left song,” because it takes a slightly different approach, but the real key in this song is the composition. Piano, guitar, shaker, drums, and maybe some slight bass paint a beautiful soundscape for soft vocals and then add jsut a dash of synth to take it all to the next level. This is what going acoustic should be for a pop punk act and these guys got it right on the first outing.
At the risk of making an All Time Low comparison, I think Throw Up Your Hands For One Night Stands has the potential to be the So Wrong, It’s Right of 2009. There is no reason this band shouldn’t be the next big thing and I hope they truly reach that status. Solid song writing that keeps the musical maturity with the youthful lyrics anyone can grab onto is the perfect combination for any record and it’s all right here. You just have to give it a listen.
*Written By: James Shotwell*
Score: 8.5/10
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