a worthy bash'n'pop record
(review from my music blog, anti-snob.com). As my pal would say "good band...but not exactly re-inventing the wheel". That doesn't mean I would delete any of these songs out of a playlist that consisted of The Ramones, Red Planet, The Briefs, and Tsar. Modern Communication is a worthy bash'n'pop record. The representation of pure-pop-bliss in the form of a high energy rock unit seems rare when almost every noteworthy band is doomed to be overshadowed by a band like Weezer or the flavor of the week from the Fueled By Ramen factory. This injustice warrants an underground movement. And while such movement would open the door for practically any snotty garage band to shift gears and "ooh", "aah", & "whoa-oh" their way to an increased listening pool, it's nice to know that a band like The Pranks can stay comfortably within the underground while setting a standard of what good power-pop-punk is...even if they themselves may not exceed that same standard.
