Despite having been around for almost 20 years at this point, San Diego’s PunchCard has managed to stay under my radar up until now. That’s about to change now with the release of ‘Soap Box Hero,’ the band’s new album out now on Felony Records.

Influenced by the EpiFat sounds of the late 90ies, the songs these guys dish out on ‘Soap Box Hero’ have an instantly familiar ring to ‘em. Think NOFX, Lagwagon and the likes. It’s not exactly earthshatteringly new, but these songs can be described as sturdy melodic punk rock. Both the riffs and vocals are not quite as flashy or catchy as the bands they look at for inspiration, the songs all kinda sound alike and the attempt at ska on ‘Whataboutism’ is best forgotten about. It would have been a different story if they had more songs like previously released single ‘Stealing My Identity,’ but the album being what it is falls short of being memorable.

Soapbox Hero tracklist:

1. Die
2. Stealing My Identity
3. Whataboutism
4. PBR
5. Mucho Dinero
6. Anti-Social Studies
7. You Sure About That
8. Soap Box Hero
9. Common Censorship
10. I’m On Drugs
11. What’s Up
12. One More Song