Through the backing of legacy punk label Iodine Recordings, Hey Thanks! has released their most complete and well-produced album to date with Start/Living. Capturing the band’s vitality and potential, Hey Thanks! proves they’re a band to watch but they demonstrate their shortcomings just as profoundly as their strengths.
Hey Thanks! are a New Orleans indie-pop/pop-punk band by way of Houma. They formed in 2016 but didn’t find their complete line-up until around 2017 when current vocalist Travis Opal joined. With support from the local “Mopewavve” DIY scene, they’ve found a solid fanbase across Louisiana and Mississippi.
Start/Living is incredibly cohesive when it comes to delivery and production. It’s not the most technical record but it doesn’t need to be, delivering anthemic highs and spacey lows with simple chord progressions and song structures. “Fun Charade” is the most obviously pop-punk track complete with gang vocals, jangly guitars and an arena-sized chorus reminiscent of Fall Out Boy or Third Eye Blind.
The front half of the album feels like the party side with rowdy tracks like “This Small Space,” the groovy “I’m Sure It’s On The Way,” and “From Me 2 U.” Bouncy rhythms and playful guitar compliment Opals’ voice, lifting them high in the mix while also distracting away from some of the flat and sometimes vague lyricism.
The back half of the record contains the more visceral and inspired lyricism especially “Would You Believe It,” which earnestly addresses suicide with lyrics like, “What’s gonna make you break today? /Who’s gonna stay awake for you so late? /Standing on the edge it’s so clear /Just one more step to disappear.”
It’s an atmospheric and ultimately comforting track based on the personal struggles of the band, namely Opal’s experience with addiction. It leaves a simple but brilliant sentiment, “If we don’t start living, we won’t stop feeling down,” acknowledging life’s overwhelming moments but encouraging the listener to try anyway. Hey Thanks! have laid out the groundwork to reinvent their pop-punk past with sonic depth, but now need lyrical depth to be just as consistent. It’s clear the band can achieve; they just have to keep living.
