The Red Heroes are at it again, this time on a split EP with Houston pop punkers Heck Nugget. Featuring three new tracks that prove once again that they’re more than just a 90’s-00’s pop punk nostalgia act, The Red Heroes bring their existing toolbox of thoughtful noodling, blazing choruses, intricate rhythms and relatable lyrics to this EP and add a few new bits along the way.
Where things start to get different for The Red Heroes is on the fairly standard emo punk tune “Let’s Take This Emotional Baggage and Turn it Into Cold, Hard Cash”. About ¾ of the way through the track, the instrumentation drops out, only to be ushered back in by the electronic screech of 8-bit chiptunes. It’s an unexpected turn, but one that feels totally at home in what I’m now realizing was The Red Heroes already existing “Geek Punk” sound. “These Pretzels … Are Making Me Thirsty” is the real showcase for this new addition to The Red Heroes’ sound however as the chiptunes are present right from the beginning. Neither taking the spotlight nor simply blending into the background, the 8-bit instrumentation takes its place alongside the rest of the band’s playing, adding a new, playful dimension to their already incendiary sound.
These two tracks along with the more standard, but still mind-blowing “I Thought We Were Sneaking Into a 49ers Game” and several tracks by Heck Nugget will be available digitally later this week and you can pick up a physical copy of the EP (featuring a special 3 panel comic by artist Ron Ghoulieman) at the release show at Sidewinder, this Friday, April 13th.