O Pioneers!!!: Neon Creeps

O Pioneers!!! may not have many similarities with Walt Whitman, the great American poet from whom the band takes its name, but the duo shares the author’s animated joy. These Houston punks always sound like they’re having a hell of a time playing and shouting its simple, cranked-up rock, rendering even lyrics like, “Forget about all the depression and all of the debt / I know I’m gonna die from it,” sound anthemic and somehow redemptive. The pair’s palpable pleasure is almost enough to carry its second full-length release, Neon Creeps. It’s punk with the right attitude, a sense of humor, and none of the finger-wagging politics or emo self-seriousness. O Pioneers!!! provides just enough melody to carry you from one fist-pumping chorus to the next, though the band is happy, angry, restless, and all of the things a bunch of hopped-up kids should be.

Ultimately, though, it’s marred by too many weird, annoying moments and precious song titles (“Saved by the Bell Was a Super Good Show”). Even an obnoxious title like “Chris Ryan Added Me on Facebook” obscures one of the most truthful kiss-offs this side of Bob Dylan (“See I’m older now / And I don’t give a damn if I ever talk to you again”). However, more records should be in this quotidian vein — fleeting, honest, unselfconscious, funny, and direct. Give it a shot anyway — maybe late at night on an empty highway. Your mileage may vary.