The PG-13s - "Get Back" EP review:

"Sounds like Lagwagon!"
...is what popped into my head after I hit go on my turntable, enabling the first track, "Sure Thing." The PG-13s are a four-piece from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and just released a four-song EP on Merman Records called "Get Back" on June 15, 2009.
The first song, "Sure Thing," seems to draw past and present influences from doo-wop bands to modern day pop punk. It's just over two minutes long and makes for a good intro song to the EP.
"Sasha Sasha" is a little closer to three minutes, stretching out the "Oohs" as lead singer Sean croons over this Sasha chick. Very good, and I think I hear a little Saves The Day in there? Whether the influence is there or not, their voices sound similar, which is a good thing. Very poppy, but stays on the correct side of the thin line separating "pop punk" from "this is too poppy."
There's a track on here called "Winona" which I think to be about Winona Ryder. The following line led me to this conclusion:
"I'll bail you out when things just get so tough/Don't worry about what they'll say/I won't let them take you away." America's favorite little shoplifter.
The last song, "Oh So," I had heard previously on an online compilation called "Punk Rock Pot Luck Vol. 3." It's got a sweet catchy solo in the middle of the song and it reminds me a little of Weezer. It's a real lovey-dovey song with the "ba da bas" and "oohs and ahhs." I dig it. Three stars out of five. The band is pretty good, although one thing I would change is the frequency of the rhymes in "Oh So" because at some points, it seems a little excessive. But songs like "Sasha Sasha" redeem it with the band's originality. Pop punk is a real hard genre for a band to bring something new to the table because really, there's only so much you can do with a few chords and a broken or swollen heart. Their progression in their songs reminds me a little of The Leftovers - a very power pop and 60s rock/pop-influenced band. Instead of the progression of say, a Riverdales or a Ramones tune, it goes a little longer and in not-so-typical places, making the verses and chorus a little longer and well, kinda better.

Check 'em out at www.myspace.com/thepg13s and www.thepg13s.com and pick up the 7'' at www.mermanrecords.com.