The Impossibles
4 Song Brick Bomb (Fueled By Ramen)
Initially founded in the mid-Nineties as a local ska-punk enterprise with just enough pop chops to appeal to wayward Weezer fans, the Impossibles have matured into something a bit less obvious on 4 Song Brick Bomb. If you’re willing to forego the easy hook and indulge them, that’s not such a bad thing. The EP kicks off innocently enough with the Cure-referencing “Disintegration (Is the Best Album, Ever),” a catchy pop-punk paean to unrequited love. Just when you think you’ve got the song pegged, however, the quartet breaks into a classic rock-style guitar coda that vaguely recalls the opening riff to Def Leppard’s “Bringing on the Heartbreak.” While many bands would have a hard time pulling that off with a straight face, the Impossibles exercise admirable restraint and make it work in service to the song. As the coda fades out, “Get It+Got It+Good” fades in as a screaming, stripped-down punk anthem designed to kick your ass out of indolence. “Oxygen” juxtaposes romantic emasculation over a Fugazi dynamic, while “Long Way From, Long Time Since” utilizes a rising melancholy melody to bolster poignant lyrics that read like snippets from an unsent letter to an absent father. Though 4 Song Brick Bomb may lack the universal access of the Impossibles’ earlier work, it’s ultimately much more heartening to hear them strive to create their own voice.
This article appears in June 29 • 2001.
