Album review: Lil Lotus – ERRØR BØY

Not shy in hiding his love of a resurgent scene, emo-rapper turned pop-punk newbie Lil Lotus presents plenty of throwback moments on debut full-length ERRØR BØY, a record which regularly comes across like a love letter to the music of his youth. And while there’s nothing overly original to be found here, what Lotus – real name John Villagran – does offer on this LP is a slick, coherent and at times very enjoyable collection of summery pop-punk.

Opening track Think Of Me Tonight is one of ERRØR BØY’s strongest songs, and after a brief acoustic intro, storms out of the gates with some blink-182-inspired riffing that suggests the album is very much headed down the path of Machine Gun Kelly’s recent effort Tickets To My Downfall. The lyrics are wholly juvenile, but that’s exactly the point: ERRØR BØY is an ode to reckless youth, lost love and the music which soundtracks those memories, and when he gets it right, Lotus proves he can spar with the likes of MGK and KennyHoopla.

He doesn’t always nail it – cheesy alt.pop number Romantic Disaster, which features Against The Current’s Chrissy Costanza, isn’t quite the emotional high-point it could’ve been – but Lil Lotus proves his knack for this sound more often than not, something to which the fun-loving power-pop of Rooftop and Girl Next Door attest.

His flirtation with a heavier emo sound on Doctor Doctor – which leans more into his work with screamo outfit If I Die First – adds some welcome variation, and if he wants to stand out in an increasingly packed pop-punk scene, that may be a road he wants to go down on future releases. For now, though, ERRØR BØY works as a simple throwback record, and one which demonstrates Lil Lotus’ obvious love of all things Warped Tour 2000.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: Machine Gun Kelly, Forever The Sickest Kids, nothing,nowhere.

ERRØR BØY is released on August 20 via Epitaph

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