The 101 Teaches You Numbers...

With it being about as summer as it’s going to get, and by that I mean blistering hot and the obnoxious whir of air conditioners everywhere, I’ll take this time to bring up a some summertime music. Numbers is the second album from the NYC trio The 101, which features singer Eric Richter formerly of Christie Front Drive.

Much like their last album Green Street, Numbers is yet again another fine chunk of crisp and clean blend of pop/punk and emo. The 101 are great at what they do, as they’ve obviously discovered that writing a well crafted pop song doesn’t have anything to do with gimmicks or quirks that will immediately differentiate themselves from anyone else. No, the band isn’t worried at all about blazing their own trail or being hopelessly lumped in with an ungodly amount of other bands. You may ask why, but it’s pretty simple really. A well crafted pop song or well crafted pop music for that matter will come to be appreciated one way or another through time, and The 101 are well aware of this apparently on Numbers. The music is simply crafted, however there are hooks and melodies that will no doubt bring a smile to your face if you are listening. It’s the perfect kind of music for sunny days and trips in the car with friends. Produced by fellow Limekiln artist Ian Love, whose album is also amazing, the sound on Numbers is definitely a notch above Green Street, although great, it suffered from a bit of muddiness I thought.

The 101 - Mott Haven [MP3]
The 101 - Last Chance [MP3]

It’s really nice to hear Richter’s vocals again, as I always enjoyed them when he was in Christie Front Drive and in with The 101 they go perfectly for the jangle indie rock approach the band is going after. Power pop, or however you want to label it, The 101 aren’t watered down radio fodder that deserves to be passed on. If you like what you hear head on over to Limekiln and pick this up and their first album too, Green Street. It’s well worth it.