Album Review: Cheekface- It's Sorted

For some reason, probably age, I like to categorize music using the usual factors of geography, year and so on. 

I feel like in recent years, music is starting to transcend the rigid genre divisions in ways that it hadn’t previously. That said, I doubt I will change my mindset which is probably the human emotion of departmentalizing things. 

So when I think of SoCal trio Cheekface, I think of the first song of there’s I heard - the pop-punk 2022s “When Life Hands You Problems” and immediately I categorize them with bands like Green Day and Blink 182 and though they are LA based, they seem the next in a lineage of Lookout (San Francisco) Records and Cargo (San Diego) Records. 

After hearing that particular song and moving onto their other output, it’s probably better to lump them with the sing-talk bands of today- Yard Act, Wet Leg, Dry Cleaning, Sleaford Mods and so on. In fact, in the same song, Cheekface can start out with the aloof, detached haughtiness of Yard Act and then end up in goofy Jonathan Richman style territory a la Bug Club. 

 Music has changed over the years and so it’s all Reddit, YouTube and Streaming and Anthony Fantano (surely the closest thing to Robert Christgau in 2024). Allmusic doesn’t even have a Cheekface entry even though they have millions of streams and vinyl available through Bandcamp. 

Interestingly, as I checked out online reviews, there is one band that pops up on comparison more than any other and I didn’t expect it and that’s They Might Be Giants. Paste says about the new album “slinging songs about late capitalism and social anxiety, and (none of their peers) can match the LA indie rock trio’s sheer winsome They-Might-Be-Giants goofiness. 

 New Noise says “Katz’s half-talking delivery (bringing to mind the deadpan wit of Cake or They Might Be Giants) perfectly sets the scene, while the music scuttles along, usually culminating in some of the most irresistibly catchy pop-rock choruses you could wish for.” 

Zerovu blog says it’s a lineage that begins with Young Fresh Fellows then goes to TMBG then Weezer before arriving at Cheekface. In any case, this band might be too quirky for some people but the combination of hooks and quirks has definitely found it an audience