“This scene needs a therapist.” Our friend Eichlers is back again. After years in the music industry, Russ Wood, aka Ike, aka Eichlers, had his breakthrough album with his 2022 Bad Time Records release My Checkered Future. A self-described hyperska album, My Checkered Future took the hyperpop stylings of 100 gecs—who were already starting to experiment with fusing the genre with ska—and took it to a new level by making an album that perfectly fused the hyperpop style with classic third-wave ska elements. His follow-up to My Checkered Future, called IKE WORLD, due out June 14, promises to take a slight detour and, while still retaining some of the hyperska elements, starts to incorporate elements of classic pop punk. But while Eichlers seeks to emulate the sound of the pop punk greats, he also wants the scene to take a good, hard look at its own problematic behavior.
Today, Eichlers is debuting the video for the second single off of IKE WORLD “No Good Dudes.” The first single off the album, “So True Bestie,” saw glitchy hyperpop production meld seamlessly with early-2000s-style pop-punk emo. “No Good Dudes” continues that trend with a song that challenges the scene’s toxic masculinity directly while still maintaining the hooky elements of the likes of early New Found Glory and Saves the Day.
“At the beginning of 2023 I rediscovered New Found Glory’s s/t album and it sent me down a pop punk rabbit hole that had an enormous influence on IKE WORLD,” explains Wood. “I’ve loved the genre since I was a little kid but boy that scene is ripe with sketchy dudes and so fraught with misconduct allegations that are as infamous as the music itself. “No Good Dudes” is kind of an examination of pop punk and the toxic masculinity that pervades the scene. I love the music but man you can only see so many notes app apologies before you gotta take a step back and look at the bigger picture.”
The video sees Eichlers performing the song solo in the middle of the street with his pink jersey over his hoodie and matching pink crocs while Wood performs the song with his trademark frenetic energy. It’s a burst of sugary pop punk with a positive message that the scene has desperately needed for some time. Check out the video below.
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Photo courtesy of Cody Furin
