A punk band from Los Angeles are set to release their second album in three years – after taking a whole decade over their first.
The Bombpops were formed back in 2007, and were heavily influenced by ’90s Epitaph Records and Fat Wreck Chords bands, such as No Use For A Name, Pennywise, Bad Religion and Strung Out, as well as bigger names like Green Day and Blink-182.
Founded by Poli van Dam (guitar/vocals) and Jen Razavi (guitar/vocals), the band’s first few years were hampered by line-up changes, which saw them go through three different drummers and six bassists.
The chopping and changing saw them release just three EPs in their first 10 years in existence, and they were thinking of making their first album when Poli became pregnant in 2012, and the band went on hiatus.
When they reconvened, the line-up settled with the addition of Josh Lewis (drums) and Neil Wayne (bass), and they finally released their debut album Fear Of Missing Out on Fat Wreck Chords in February 2017.
They toured the album hard, leading to too much booze, bad situations and behaviour that’s unsustainable at best and destructive at worst.
The result of that is the follow-up album Death in Venice Beach, which will be released on Fat Wreck Chords on March 13. The band say it is the comedown after the high, when clarity pierces the morning-after haze.
They have trailed the new album by releasing a video for the first single, Notre Dame, and it’s immediately obvious that The Bombpops’ sound hasn’t changed: highly melodic punk with big guitars, vocal harmonies, and the SoCal sound that inspired them in the first place.
The song is inspired by the fire at the famed 700-year-old cathedral, which prompted self-reflection in Razavi, who said: “I’ve always thought when you meet somebody that you like, or even a friend, it’s not the first time,” she says. “I say, ‘I’ve known you before. We were here before.”
It’s an indication that the light-hearted skate punk of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) has a serrated edge on Death in Venice Beach, as Razavi and van Dam explore darker themes—even though the songs are catchier than ever.
“I want people to feel this dark, uneasy feeling,” says van Dam, who had plenty of her own in the three years since FOMO.
She suffered a potentially life-threatening diabetic seizure on tour in the fall of 2018 (referenced in Double Arrows Down, one of the album’s standout tracks), and sought treatment for alcoholism while the new album was in post-production.
“I went to rehab right when we were finalising the mixes and stuff,” van Dam says, “and so listening back to the songs when I was in rehab, I’m like, ‘Oh shit, I was going through some stuff without even realizing how dark everything was and how shitty of a place I was in’.”
The band is well known in the Californian pop-punk scene due to playing with big names such as NOFX, Descendents and Bad Religion. Now they hope the new record will give them lift off.
You can pre-order Death In Venice Beach from Fat Wreck Chords here.
