Mikey Erg
has been working with various bands since 2000, first as drummer, vocalist, and songwriter with
the Ergs
and since then with the likes of
Dirt Bike Annie
,
the Worriers
Star Fucking Hipsters
, and
For Science
. In what amounts to a decade-and-a-half graduate course in pop-punk,
Erg
has had plenty of time to work out his ideas about what makes a killer tune, and with his first proper solo album, he's shown us just how much he's learned. Released in 2016,
Tentative Decisions
is a smart, ambitious, and effective set of songs that range from raging and hooky rockers to spare, contemplative pop numbers. Given that most of the bands he's worked with worship at the altar of
the Ramones
, one of the pleasant surprises of
is the imaginative structures of the songs. There's plenty of traditional uptempo downstroke in these songs, but
's chord changes and melodic curves are just tricky enough to give the tunes a spirit that's their own, and his guitar work has the right balance of crunch and jangle to make for a powerful merger of punk and pop.
's songs avoid the usual pop-punk cliches and sound impressively thoughtful and adult -- almost too adult at times, though the introspection of "Apart Time," "Nyquil & Sudafed," and "Waiting Out the Winter" puts a more interesting spin on trouble with women than we usually get from folks delivering this sort of material. And the production by
Jeff Rosenstock
is fittingly straightforward, sometimes a bit rough around the edges but full of a rollicking piss-and-vinegar attack that works well with
's dry wit and bursts of rage. Plenty of folks have to make a handful of albums before they can work up to the level
achieves on
, and his long apprenticeship has paid off with an album that's smart, tuneful, and hard-hitting. ~ Mark Deming