by Derric Miller
— Managing Editor —
If Bowling for Soup and The Dollyrots are not your Top 1 & 2 Pop Punk bands, in whatever order, then you haven’t been listening. Just by longevity alone, Bowling for Soup has proven since 1994 that they are going to be around as long as they want to be. They’ve outlasted Grunge, which ended myriad careers with the exact opposite type of music, and even when Rap, R&B, Country, or any genre became the HOT NEW THING, Bowling for Soup stayed the course … stayed their course. And The Dollyrots, which at its core has always been the engaging Kelly Ogden and guitarist Luis Cabezas regardless of touring or studio musicians along for the ride, have made their name via their live shows, their inescapably honest love for their fans and their DIY vision on everything. The two groups have also become fast friends, touring the world together (or at least part of it), and the two lead singers Jaret Reddick and Kelly formed a natural bond, a real BFF vibe, that brought them together to finally make some music with each other. The result of that friendship is the duets album Sittin’ in a Tree, a mix not only of the two bands sounds, but elements of other musical genres they love.
“Here We Go” taps the keg, and like most of the music on the new album, it’s a feel-good anthem. They sing in two-part harmony during the verses while trading lines on the chorus, and it gets you amped for what’s next.
“Doin’ Alright” has a slight New Country vibe, due in part to Jaret’s lower range vocals and of course, the guitar is all Country. Not what’d you expect, but they didn’t get together to write what you’ve heard before–they are writing whatever the muse brought them, and this is an example of it not really mattering WHAT they play together, it’s just good. Still, if you are going to go the Country route … Brad Paisley could have really shredded a cool guitar solo. If you are going there anyway, go all the way. Maybe next time …
It goes full Bowling for Soup on “Something I’m Not,” which was bound to happen. It’s not like they can escape who they are. You can feel them sort of slide right into this duet glove by this point, and it’s one of the best songs on Sittin’ in a Tree. Plus, hearing Kelly sing, “But we’re both pretty fucking awesome,” is a side-glance at The Dollyrots “Because I’m Awesome.”
“Butterflies” is the first slower song, an acoustic-driven composition with Jaret taking most of the lead vocals over with Kelly harmonizing and taking a few leads herself. You might not always think of Pop Punk bands as being great vocalists, but this could be a Top 10 Billboard hit purely based on songwriting and talent. It’s heartfelt, authentic, and if you are human, you’ve felt these feeling before.
While they do take chances, they always come back to songs like “Yourself Again,” which if it had more of an ’80s style lead singer slathered in makeup and a can or two of Aqua Net in his hair, would be catchy ’80s Hard Rock hit, especially with the Poison-style guitar solo.
“Daddy’s Girl” is another Country-type. OK, not “type,” it’s Country. It’s so sad, if you have tear ducts, you may find yourself knowing they still work well. For Jaret, it’s a song about his daughter, the pure love of a father for his child. In Kelly’s story, she’s Daddy’s Girl, and her father had a chance to hear the song once before he passed away when they were recording Sittin’ in a Tree. When Kelly sings, it pulls at the heartstrings in a way you’ve never heard her sing before … it’s beautiful.
They empty the keg on “Even If It Kills You,” and the party anthems have taken the wheel again. This one leans pretty far on the side of The Dollyrots, but at this point, it’s just Jaret & Kelly, doing their thing. Lucky you …
Sittin’ in a Tree is not quite the feel-good album you’d expect, but there’s a lot of happy happy joy joy to go around. They are adults, though, have children of their own and seen the ones they love depart for the other side, and why shouldn’t that be part of their musical story as well? They even have a song in “Rocket Ride” that could be a Maroon 5 hit. So while you may not get exactly what you’d expect, you do get a hell of a lot more.
Genre: Rock/Pop Punk
Band:
Jaret Reddick-lead vocals, guitar
Kelly Ogden-lead vocals, bass
Tracklisting:
1. Here We Go
2. Doin’ Alright 03:31
3. Something I’m Not
4. Make Her Miserable
5. Butterflies (The Crush Song)
6. Kids Again
7. Rocket Ride
8. Yourself Again
9. Let’s Just See How It Goes
10. How Did We Get Here
11. That Night
12. Daddy’s Girl
13. You Win
14. Even If It Kills You
Label: Independent
Online:
https://www.facebook.com/jaretandkelly/
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(8.6 / 10)
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