Don’t Be Cool, Be Like Mike

Pop-punk isn’t cool anymore. And there’s certainly not a huge bevy of neo-pop-punk bands around the Atlanta scene either. But that’s not stopped locals Like Mike from sticking to their guns, making music that they love, and grinding it out over the last eight years or so, thus becoming the de facto pop-punk veterans of the metro Atlanta area scene (mostly due to lack of any competition).

In nearly a decade of being a band they’ve actually managed to keep the same original five members, which if you’ve ever been in or close to a band is kind of an amazing feat. Having headlined local shows, opened for several bigger names in pop-punk locally, and completed extensive DIY nationwide tours, the band continues to grow and better themselves musically, both as performers and as songwriters. This is evident on their latest studio release, My Best Friend’s Living Room, their seventh and strongest DIY release in as many years.

Produced, engineered, and co-written by Chris Piquette (from the band Trophy Wives), the album is a well-written, energetic, nine-song effort that lyrically encapsulates youthful bewilderment and dismay, as well as good/bad beer-soaked memories. Musically it’s simple, catchy, tight, well put together, easy to listen to from beginning to end, and chock full of all the trappings fans of the pop-punk genre would expect and love. The production is super-smooth and in-focus, with great guitar tones and warm drum sounds. Though it’s a bit on the overproduced side and features sing-songy vocals ad nauseam (think Blink-182 and the like), that’s just sort of par for the course when it comes to this specific style of music. So, if this is a genre you can get into (even if it’s your dirty little secret or a guilty pleasure), be sure to check these guys out. The record is available on Like Mike’s BandCamp page, and if you wanna check ’em out live, they’re playing March 18 at Smith’s Olde Bar with Outatime! and IdleMinds.