Because I (not so) secretly yearn to be 18 years old, my soundtrack for the summer is as loud, fast, and posi as possible. I'm listening to a lot of older stuff like Smoke or Fire, Latterman, and Screeching Weasel, and to keep things up-to-date, I've also thrown the new Shook Ones record, The Unquotable A.M.H., into the playlist. You know, to see how it stands up to some of the classics.

Clocking in at just 30 minutes, Unquotable is their best record yet—it gives some of their forefathers a run for their money (Lifetime, I'm looking at you) and proves that pop punk is still alive and kicking a double bass drum... and not just because Blink-182 are back.

The Unquotable A.M.H. starts with someone (producer Jackson Long, perhaps?) saying, "Just make some sound." The band blasts into the first track, "Middle Name: Justice," wherein layers of harmonizing whoas are broken up by a simple, bright guitar riff reminiscent of Screeching Weasel's instrumental "Talk to Me Summer." It's the perfect track to set the tone for the impending melodic-hardcore attack.

Personal favorites: "Equal Opportunity Insults" (the most aggressive track on the album) and "Double Knot That" (the most emotional). "For Collards" is the song to play (and ideally sing along to with your friends) while driving around in the sun, if only for the way singer Scott Freeman screams the opening line, "Independence day!"

While the record is near flawless, the new stuff sounded even better live last week, when they played the American Legion Hall in West Seattle. If you missed it, that's okay—there's still plenty of summer left for you to get cozy with your own copy of the record.

Thurs July 30: Abe Vigoda, Talbot Tagora, Eric Ostrowski, Telepathic Liberation Army at the Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $11 ($10 w/ club card).

Fri July 31: Blitzen Trapper, Throw Me the Statue at the Mural Amphitheatre, Seattle Center, 6 pm, free.

Fri July 31: Viaduct Benefit Show: Striking the Nations, ZeroYear, Swinglow, Wake the Fallen, Winston Smith at Viaduct, 7 pm, $8.

Wed Aug 5: Kimya Dawson, Paleface, No One and the Somebodies, Turbosleaze at the Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $10 ($9 w/ club card).