A lot of the current, up-and-coming pop punk bands can be so generic that I stopped paying attention as I got older. After that era of the Story So Far, Neck Deep, Real Friends, and all of those bands (most of which have been cancelled, to be honest), everything kind of blended together. Turns out this new Bad Luck track, “ROY,” which comes with the announcement of their next record Summer Of Pain, is catchy and fast enough to the point where it doesn’t matter if it’s not that original. And this band kind of just shreds, especially their 2019 track “Impressive Depressive.”

Similar to New Jersey’s Save Face, Bad Luck’s got distinct vocals, a fun, melodic sound that builds up, and the drummer needs to be appreciated more. The lyrics, also, are just great: “I heard you really thought I sold drugs/ I helped my friends do it once and just ’cause/ Utah made me think that acid was cool.” There’s also the line, “I can’t take pills so I smoke pot/ No joke, that’s how it goes,” so it’s good to see that pop punk is still alive and well.

Read what frontman Dominick Fox said about the track:

It’s about looking at your decisions and realizing you may have been content with settling for what you’ve grown used to, or even have been holding yourself back simply by not being your truest self because you’re trying to please or appeal to others.

Listen to “ROY” below.

Summer Of Pain is out 7/9 via Take This To Heart Records. Pre-order it here.