SUPER SOMETIMES are too young to have seen their San Diego hometown explode as a pop-punk launching pad around the turn of the millennium, but the spirit of genre legends live on in the upstart quartet as they lead their own SoCal charge, melding generations of punk rock with an old-school DIY mentality and new-school social media savvy.
The Pure Noise Records signees – Gabriel Muñoz (vocals, guitar), Dylan Guzman (vocals, guitar), Matthew Ludwig (drums) and Matthew Anliker (bass), only one of whom (Anliker) is over 21 – have quickly become one of the brightest new voices in the underground, thanks not only to an insatiable work ethic and obsessive, studious dedication to their craft, but some serious right-place-right-time serendipity. Guzman and Ludwig first crossed paths at their local School of Rock as kids, bonding over their love of bands like State Champs in between covering classic rock songs. Years later, when Guzman persuaded Knuckle Puck to pull him on stage to play guitar at a San Diego show, Muñoz’s dad was watching from the crowd, and just like that, Super Sometimes was in motion.
“Super Sometimes is ushering in a new era of pop-punk,” wrote Ones To Watch, and it’s easy to see why: Songs like “Spork,” “Losing This Game” and “Complacent” thread the needle between the adrenaline-fueled urgency of skate punk, the polished hooks and tight arrangements of Drive-Thru Records’ heyday, the confessional lyricism and unfiltered emotion of Tumblr-era acts. Whatever era of the genre resonates with audiences, they’ll find it in Super Sometimes’ music – all underwritten by a wide-eyed irreverence and joy that’s only amplified every time they step on stage, whether they’re headlining legendary Southern California clubs like Chain Reaction and SOMA, supporting acts like State Champs, Hawthorne Heights, and Real Friends or taking part in festivals like Is For Lovers (“You couldn’t even see the end of the crowd,” Guzman enthuses) and Furnace Fest.