As pop-punk regrettably matures, Allister find themselves in some sort of musical Neverland, still producing amazingly catchy and upbeat songs fifteen years after they were formed in 1996. They have ridden rough seas, surviving numerous line-up changes along with a three year hiatus. 2010 saw them back with their fourth full-length album, and what’s even more impressive is that they have done all this whilst staying true to their roots.
Early Days
The four piece outfit emerged from Chicago, Illinois and were one of the first signings for Drive-Thru Records, a label which has gone on to achieve great success, acting as a platform from which bands such as New Found Glory, and Fenix TX in addition to Allister, gained recognition. Dead Ends And Girlfriends was their full length debut, an album made up of 16 songs that weighs in at just over thirty-two minutes in total. A quick bit of number crunching leads to the discovery that the average length of songs on this album is slightly above two minutes, giving an impression of the kind of upbeat, high tempo music these guys produce. Their lyrical content at this time is reminiscent of any other young adolescent band active in the mid-'90s; namely drinking, partying and girl trouble, however, they also throw in a mixture of humour, a tactic put to good use by Blink 182 in their early days, with songs such as "Jacob Thinks I’m Gay," "Pictures" and the band’s own take on The Backstreet Boys’ "I Want It That Way."
Image Free
I first came across Allister by chance on a music channel that happened to be playing "Somewhere on Fullerton," a firm fan (and author) favourite from their second album. The song is so simple yet so relentlessly catchy; it is the perfect pop-punk anthem. I was instantly hooked and bought the album, along with its predecessor and proceeded to have them on repeat for months whilst eagerly awaiting their next release. One of the things that is so appealing about this band is that they do not try to be anything that they are not, no gimmicks, make-up or matching outfits, just fun, upbeat songs that never fail to induce a good feeling in the listener. The band have not experienced hardships such as broken homes or living rough and credit to the boys, they do not try and generate a macho-punk image, acknowledging their upbringing and lifestyles in the title of their second album, Last Stop Suburbia, which also features the song "None of My Friends Are Punks," documenting how friends of the band were beginning to take straight jobs and settle down.
The Old Ways Are The Best
Despite making music for nearly fifteen years, the Pop-Punk quartet have never wavered in their methods, avoiding the temptation to stray into rock opera and Broadway (hello Green Day) or play around with synths, voice distortion and extended and generally weird sounding intros (yes, I’m looking at you Blink). Instead, Allister have always opted for straightforward power chords with bouncy sing-along hooks laid over them. 2005’s Before The Blackout showed evidence of a hint of maturity in the band’s song writing whilst still managing to exude fun, and after a three year break, Allister proved they were still up to the task with last year’s Countdown to Nowhere. Allister stand as living testimony to the fact that a band can both have staying power and retain that cheeky glint in their eye. Any enthusiasts of the genre should check out "Rewind" from Before The Blackout and see where that takes you. I hope Allister continue to make music and can provide people with the many, many great times they’ve provided me with!
Matt Blackwell - I graduated from Newcastle University in 2011 with a First in English Literature, I wrote extensively for the university newspaper and ...
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