Single Slam – Tiny Rascals by South Berkeley

South Berkeley is the name of Berlin based punk label, Krod Records, latest signing. The French punk rock band have just released their first single with Krod Records called Tiny Rascals. Described as a well produced, fist pumping song, South Berkeley are, apparently, reminiscent of early Blink-182.

It is important to take note of the word “early” there seeing as Blink 182 pretty much sucked for most of their later career. South Berkeley hail from Nice and Paris in France and are Hubert Mousseigne on guitars & vocals and Clément Zaetta on the bass & vocals. The final member of the three piece is Jordan Soussan who looks after the drums. The band themselves say that they are influenced by band’s from the 90’s and are aiming to mix old school vibes with modern sounds and experiences.

Tiny Rascals was unveiled on the 27th of October and you can check it out below. The track is just 4 minutes long and starts with a gentle melody. A bassy tone gets added to the mix and it does actually sound Blink esque. The vocals kick in along with a quick tapping drum beat and you are instantly transported back to the late nineties, early noughties when bands like Blink 182, New Found Glory or Sum 41 ruled the roost.

As the verse progresses the drums speed up a little but only the drums. The vocals are sung well with a little pop punk attitude and there is a nice background riff. Tiny Rascals is very much on the ballad/anthem style of pop punk though – think Always by Blink 182 and you will get the style. There are some good vocal arrangements with backing coming in at the right time and occasional background melody from the guitar that elevates the track a bit. It fades out to leave nothing but the drums near the end which is a nice touch.

Simply put, you will either love or hate Tiny Rascals. If you were a fan of those early days of pop punk then you are in for a treat. South Berkeley have absolutely captured the essence of those days musically and in feeling. If you weren’t a fan of those days, there isn’t anything here that will change your mind. My personal opinion? I can hear that the song is well written and well played. The singers both have good voices and the drum beat is great. The problem I have with Tiny Rascals is that I find it to be a bit boring and a bit bland. That isn’t there fault. I have never liked pop punk, and have long been confused by how it ever got so popular. If you do like it though, you are going to love this.

Check it out below –

Find out more about South Berkeley over at their Facebook page. Be sure to give them a like or follow while you are there.