''The Simple Plan'' is an EP released independently in 2022 by August Is Falling, a

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

music project led by American singer-guitarist

Pat Finnerty Pat Finnerty (born 1980) is an American musician and YouTube personality based in Philadelphia. As a singer-guitarist, his projects include Okay Paddy, And the Moneytones, Pat Finnerty and the Full Band, and August is Falling. On social-media ch ...

. Music producer

Butch Walker Bradley Glenn "Butch" Walker (born November 14, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the glam metal band SouthGang from the late 1980s to early 1990s as well as the lead vocalist ...

mixed the EP's single, "August Is Falling". The EP also features appearances by drummer

Eric Slick Eric Slick (born May 15, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter and drummer. He is the drummer of Dr. Dog, performing on their albums ''Shame, Shame'' (2010), ''Be The Void'' (2012), ''B-Room'' (2013), ''The Psychedelic Swamp'' (2016) ''Abandone ...

, Kim, and Toby Leaman of

Dr. Dog Dr. Dog is an American rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its lineup consists of Toby Leaman (bass guitar), Scott McMicken (lead guitar), Frank McElroy ( rhythm guitar), Zach Miller (keyboard), Eric Slick ( drums), an ...

Development and release

In mid 2022,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-based musician and YouTube personality

founded August Is Falling, a

-style music project. Finnerty wrote the songs and played guitars and sang vocals, on the band's ''The Simple Plan'' EP that was released independently on September 2, 2022. The EP featured Toby Leaman, Kim, and Butch Walker on tracks, as well an appearance by

on drums. Musical artist Harsh Symmetry appeared on EP's the cover. The EP's fifth song track, "August Is Falling", was mixed by acclaimed music producer

and released as a single. A lyrics video of the same track was produced by J. Gonzo. According to Finnerty, the title of the EP spoofs Canadian pop punk band

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1999. The band's lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guita ...

. Lyrics of the songs on the EP take aim at the popular music industry,

internet culture Internet culture is a culture based on the many way people have used computer networks and their use for communication, entertainment, business, and recreation. Some features of Internet culture include online communities, gaming, and social medi ...

, and the state of the emo movement. The EP both lampoons and plays homage to emo/pop-punk bands. The EP's independent release was backed by a grassroots movement to promote it on YouTube. The single, "August is Falling", garnered 140,000 views on YouTube in its first week after release with August is Falling trending as the Number 1 punk band on

BandCamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

and the EP being featured on Spotify's new pop punk playlist.

Critical reception

The band and EP received praise from The Darkness front man

Justin Hawkins Justin David Hawkins (born 17 March 1975) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and YouTube personality best known for being the founder, lead singer, and lead guitarist of The Darkness. He was influenced by rock bands of the 1970s and ...

after its release. The website ''Craig's Music Review'' rated the EP 8 out of 10. Music critic Mark Rowland of ''Penny Black Music'' said the EP "sounds like it’s dumbing itself down somewhat to meet the expectations of the genre – to the point of parody in places – but at the same time, the songs are genuinely well constructed and catchy". Music commentator Allan Raible of

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

ranked the EP #45 on his list of the top 50 albums of 2022. Raible said about ''The Simple Plan'' EP on the ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' website, "Weirdly, it is supposed to be a joke, but Finnerty is a great musician and songwriter, creating five songs that both lampoon the genre and pay fitting, pitch-perfect, wonderfully immature homage to bands like

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...

. Armed with skill and heart, this EP is infinitely more than a sarcastic footnote."

Track listing

Personnel

— lead vocals, guitars * Erik Slick — drums * Kim — vocals * Toby Leaman — bass, vocals *

— production

References

External links