Kevin Bronson on October 7th, 2014

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Toronto four-piece PUP is a welcome throwback to punk aggression, sing-along choruses and bands with a healthy dose of attitude. They played around their home city as Topanga, named for the character in “Boy Meets World” until Disney decided to reboot the franchise, making their use of the name dicey. No matter. “Disney has swallowed a piece of our childhood, and puked it back up like the Play-Doh of our nightmares,” the band said, so “f**k Disney, and f**k Topanga. We are PUP.” The quartet unveiled its self-titled debut late last year before hooking up with L.A.-based Side One Dummy Records, which released the album in June. Their influences are easy to spot – the nerdiness of Weezer fused with the punk-rock abilities of the Bronx – but the sound is definitely their own. The album captures the energy of their live performances (they’ve toured with AFI, Cancer Bats and the Menzingers), whether with the bombast of “Guilt Trip” and “Lionheart,” the surf riffs of “Dark Days,” the pop catchiness of “Mabu” or the soul of “Yukon.” It’s addictive, not to mention (as the video for “Mabu” suggests) a lot of fun.

– Jessica Shalvoy

||| Live: PUP plays the Culture Collide Festival in Echo Park on Oct. 18.

||| Also: After the jump, watch the video for “Guilt Trip”

Photo by Rebecca Reed