Labels: Animal Style Records
Review by: MH
This is a collection of songs that Mixtapes have previously put out as a bonus download with pre-orders of an older release. It’s acoustic in the main and typical of their quirky, catchy pop punk/indie. There are 9 songs here, most of them clocking in under 2 minutes and there is something of a basement-party singalong feel to it. All the songs are titled with a time of day or night and then what would typically be the song title in brackets. What I like about Mixtapes is the contrast between Ryan and Maura’s vocals “” I’ve always liked Maura’s vocals in particular and they are particularly good on “4 PM (how to end something good)” and “6PM (how to take the scenic route)”. The big singalong bit towards the end of “Midnight (from the red to the blue)” will certainly get a few fists in the air when played live. A lot of people will have already made their minds up about whether they like Mixtapes or not but if you are into them and feel-good pop punk you will almost certainly like this. Nice.