Pollen

Chip (Fueled By Ramen)
by Tim Den

I think I’m going to make it my personal quest to see that Pollen are the next superstars. Not everyday do we here at Lollipop get records that make us feel so hopeful about the future of music, but times like these are what keeps our pens bleeding ink and our jaded hearts in the “scene.” Pollen is the next Decendents: Quirky, funny (but not condescending), and with a knack for relevant, mid-tempo rock tunes about girls. The vocalist is as strong as Chad or Milo, and he’s got an equally muscular band behind him. Mixing and matching guitar and bass notes (like ALL), Pollen is never boring and always surprises with their arrangements (not to mention vocal patterns). Rockers and punkers both’ll love this. A few more kudos: having Jim Adkins from Jimmy Eat World do backups, and a sense of humor only the blackest of humorists can appreciate (last line in the liner notes: “and remember, Rob Mundell must die. Thank you!”). Great.
(www.fueledbyramen.com)