Make Believe Melodies Logo

Neko!: “Skateshoes”

Most of the music why-are-you-shouting-at-me-band Neko! make sounds crisp, cleanly recorded punk-pop full of heads-down chugging and throaty shouting. Nothing that will make you dive for the “stop” button, but also not going to inspire any essays anytime soon. Yet on the 2011 song “Skateshoes,” Neko! pull out slightly shittier recording devices and unplug their instruments to create something less Blink-182 and more Moldy Peaches. Yep – folk rock with a very clear amateur streak. Yet whereas Kimya Dawson and Adam Green’s cutesy fluff ended up quirky enough to be the anthem of Juno, “Skateshoes” keenly avoids folk trapping and instead lets Neko! be Neko! So though the guitar strumming couldn’t lift a box of soap up, the group mostly screams the lyrics like they are kids gathered round a campfire prone to hooting and hollering. Suddenly a potentially limp-wristed stab at folkiness becomes a charmingly menacing woop-a-long. Cute but in a way I wouldn’t want to run into these guys at a pool hall. Listen here.