Bands That Deserve More Attention #2 - You, Me, and Everyone We Know

After the success of last week's post on Bands That Deserve More Attention, I'm back this week with a different genre. This time, it's the turn of pop-punk in the form of You, Me, and Everyone We Know.

Imagine Andrew WK meets Panic! At The Disco, and you have You, Me, and Everyone We Know. Admittedly not the easiest band name to slip into conversation, but for ease of reading, I'll abbreviate to YMAEWK from here on in.

Critics have praised them for proving that "there are still bands that really enjoy the music they create", and it only takes a listen to one song to hear it for yourself. YMAEWK specialise in writing anthems to youth's progression into adulthood, and boy do they do it well. Lyrics that read somewhat ineffective sound powerful in the capable hands of Ben Liebsch's sassy, confident vocals -

Give me a shovel, you'll be amazed at how fast I dig a grave, baby, just to lay in it.

I even persuaded my friends to sing Happy Birthday to me on my 18th, not for the significance of the inappropriate lyrics, but purely because I loved the song that much. It became the anthem to my entire year and strangely taught me a lot of things about dealing with life aged 18. Thanks to these guys, songs with social morals have become my weakness.

Very few bands were evidently born to work together, but the way each member of YMAEWK contributes to the final product just goes to show that these guys know their music, and what's more, they love it. The passionate optimism behind I Can Get Back Up Now seamlessly contrasts with the boundless revenge of Dirty Laundry, so the entire EP throws you through a myriad of emotions, leaving you quite literally drained after only 6 songs.

Sadly, the band as they appear in these releases are no more. As usual, every half decent band shatters into pieces, and now You, Me, and Everyone We Know has become... just You. Vocalist Liebsch remains solo under the band's name, but this is by no means the end of the road, so my hope still remains that some semblance of a fantastic pop-punk band will rise from the ashes. You, Me, and Everyone We Know are the last of a dying breed, so let's keep them alive.