SONG REVIEW: Van Full of Nuns - "Is Heaven Worth This Hell I'm Living"
“If you miss what Pop Punk used to be but love where it’s heading, Van Full Of Nuns have got you covered!”
by Jesse James Smith
Van Full Of Nuns….. What a name. Perhaps one of the best and most memorable names I’ve personally ever heard. So obviously, right from the start even out of sheer curiosity I HAD to check this band out. Their latest single “Is Heaven Worth This Hell I’m Living” gave me REAL nostalgia, The one I think most mid 20-early 30ths would click with immediately. Transporting me back to 2005 when Pop Punk was on MTV all day, every day and when Skateboarding was every kid's passion. Let’s dive into this together and let me tell you the highlights.
This band covers every single pop punk base in one song. Starting off with a catchy mid tempo verse that grabs your attention putting the vocals more in the forefront, showcasing a unique and powerful vocal performance by Michael Perez (lead Vocals). His voice immediately grabs you because it isn’t the norm of 2022. Think Coheed and Cambria but in a mid register. After grabbing your attention and seemingly establishing a tempo, they pull the carpet out from under you and deliver some sweet, sweet pop punk goodness. Pulling out the old faithful pop punk back beat only long enough to actually get blown away by the A Day To Remember style drop they seamlessly transition to in the same verse. To be honest, Van Full Of Nuns pull off the perfect blend of new school pop punk spin off that we see in ADTR and mid 2000’s old school pop punk like NFG.
The second half of the song has this really cool build up that would really translate cool live. It is big and full and has the potential to be a great gang chant for the crowd to interact. At no point of this song do you ever lose interest in what the band is doing, always changing it up and keeping your attention with constant changes that seem to blend together perfectly. The worst part about listening to this song is knowing it ends, but the best is knowing you can listen again. If you are a pop punk fan, any sub genere of pop punk, you will be a fan of Van Full Of Nuns.