SONG REVIEW: Better Plans - "Flashpass (To Six Flags, High)"
“The perfect 2022 punk-pop song for everyone born in the early 90’s”
by Jesse Smith
To the people who like their pop punk a little more punk and less pop. You know, like early Green Day and even early Blink 182. Back to a time when structure really didn’t matter and you played 3 chords as fast as you could and you spilled your heart in the most raw and artistic way. There is a brand new band that just hit the scene that takes the 90’s pop punk spirit into 2022 and it really brings me back to the good days. Better Plans is a pop punk band from Boston, MA that puts the punk back in pop punk. “Flash Pass (to Six Flags, High)” is the first release from this band ever and let me tell you, it’s a strong one.
Starting out the song with “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days, before you actually left them” as a talking sound clip really sets the mood for you. It seems this is a common theme of punk-pop bands coming in 2022 which I can fully relate to. To be honest, this song is the anthem to all of the 90’s babies that are approaching 2023 with back pain and and fighting for the will to still party. In the song it mentions after the good old times 2020 which was an odd time frame to think of as good times, but in reality that was a time of a lot of reflecting and realizing what is important in life and that was probably the birthplace of Better Plans. The song itself is more of an emotional dump, the stuff you write in your journal which makes it extremely relatable to the majority of us which is a huge win for the band. Flash Pass doesn’t really have a chorus other than the word “Fuck” and musical transition which at first got me wondering where the hook was, but the song is so raw and so punk influenced that It still was catchy and connected with me on a different more artistic level.
Growing up and listening to early Blink 182 and Green Day as a kid really made me appreciate this song that much more. It has a “Basket Case” vibe to it and also sounded like I would have heard this song on tony hawk pro skater. This song is for the people who are starting to feel old but really aren’t! I feel like the 30’s transition period is similar to the highschool age transition where everything feels uncertain and new problems come into your life. If you feel the same way as me, this song is for you.