Them Terribles

Them Terribles Publishing

Santa Barbara’s Them Terribles have mastered the art of polished pop punk. Grinding guitar hooks, catchy lyrics, and a sense of personal style effortlessly mixes ’50s greaser kid and L.A. scenester. And while the Fonz-meets-The-Killers vibe works fairly well on tracks like “Tangerine” and “Yellow Line,” it’s the strummy “Silly Bird” that makes for Rock, Paper, Terribles’s greatest achievement. The minute-long, folk-inspired ditty manages to incorporate ruminations on life and love alongside crowing bird noises without sounding cheesy or strained, before transitioning seamlessly into the dance-worthy breakup jam, “True Love.” The triumph here is not an album of ingenious-or even especially original-material; it’s the well-crafted, sleekly packaged debut of a group of kids who know how to craft good rock music without taking themselves too seriously.