South Arcade

One Liner: Very catchy pop punk action
Wikipedia Genre: pop punk, alternative rock
Home: Oxford, England

Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 23
Day: Saturday
Weekend Two Only.

BMI Stage at 1:30.

Thoughts:  Nice to be pleasantly surprised as I troll around the dregs of the poster.  Not that many songs really, and so I feel like I've heard some of them five times in just the last few hours.  Regardless, the mix of alt rock and a poppy vocal is kind of fun.  Like, you know how Linkin Park added a new female vocalist to take Bennington's spot?  This is like if Britney Spears took over the singing duty and didn't try to scream her way into it.

No actual albums, just singles and a few EPs.  The biggest track, by stream-count, has played several times, and I always look up from my work and notice at the same time.  It made me laugh out loud a few minutes ago to realize I had done it again.  "HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER" has 9.1 million streams.

At first, for me, those voice effects are a turnoff, but then I get caught up in how damn catchy that pop punk flavoring is.  It's that throwdown around 2:25 that catches me up every time.  

The band itself is from Oxford, England and was formed in 2021 at university in Guildford.  They apparently named themselves after a sign they saw in a shopping mall called Westgate Oxford.  They released a few singles that got a little traction, but then their band rehearsals at BBC Radio 1's studio went viral for some reason on the TikketyTok.  Their own cited inspirations?  Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park.  Maybe that is a better pull than Britney - this is like if Stefani was brattily singing for Linkin Park.  Sometimes, I hear Miley Cyrus as well (like on "Supermodels").

This one is the biggest streamer from their 2024 EP, "2005," with 8.6 million streams.

Tasty, crunchy riffs will open the door to me anytime.  And so even when those vocals get a little too cutesy, I'm still over here biting my lip and nodding along.  I spent all weekend out in North Carolina, enjoying some nice weather and good company with some friends.  These songs kept popping into my brain - they are just super catchy for my brain!