In the greatest pop-punk songs, not a single drum fill, not a single crescendo or muted-strum verse is wasted. The verse is a hook and the chorus is a bigger, better hook. Every beat of every measure is carefully constructed to maximize foot-stomping, fist-pumping sing-along-ing. The very best pop-punk songs are triumphant, transcendent, and universal.

Even if you follow the genre you may not yet have heard of Ellegarden. That will change. Ellegarden should have a place on any list of today's best creators of Warped Tour ready rock. If they don't yet, it's only because they haven't had much of a North American presence until now.

is the first record by the Japanese superstars to see a proper release on this side of the Pacific, and it's a must-have for fans of Sugarcult, Sum 41, The Starting Line, Yellowcard, New Found Glory, etc. Have a listen and find out first hand why Ellegarden are able to attract a hometown crowd of 30,000 (not a typo) for a simple headlining gig in the Makuhari Messe, a convention center in Japan that looks from its website to be the largest building ever made.

Key tracks:
Fire Cracker (

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Salamander ()
Winter ()