Lee AdcockWhat does it mean to be a post hunk? Is that just a clever phrase for a dad bod? Maybe. Or, if we’re referring to the post in a record collector’s sense, then perhaps John Pierce and Alex Teich want to step beyond not just the physical aspects of the stud, but the entire “look-good-to-get-ahead” mentality. Look around in any given dive bar, and you’ll see that the further underground you go, the more rigidly suave the uniform gets; they hang in the same circles, they hold the same casually cool facade, they nod their heads in the same statuesque stance. As a regular partner to man-about-town Yancey Ballard, Pierce has no doubt seen all these patterns on the wall; so while their current outfit Shouldies sidesteps simple punk trappings completely, Post Hunk attacks the norm from the inside.
This carnival-crazy debut Celebrity Pets isn’t so much a game-changer, though, as a game in and of itself. With cheeky synths, fuming punk vocals, and perky two-minute tunes, Pierce invokes the wackier new wave hijinks of XTC and Split Enz; even the solemn ballad that opens the album “Late part1” thrusts you at once into the absurd: “I was born two hours ago / am I late?” Granted, that question also launches us straight into the perpetually incoming traffic of the social media era, another toy in Post Hunk’s playpen. “Two steps from irrelevance / life is right on time,” Pierce shouts on “Big Al on Campus,” with enough nonchalance to imply that he’s both in on and outside of the ongoing popularity contest. Why even bother, after all, when—as the title track suggests—a famous stranger’s adorable dog could attract more love and fans than the average human?
Watching Post Hunk cavort around the crux of our times is fun, sure. But a whole album of such antics would barely stand in an era where bands are now clamoring to tap their finger on the modern malaise. Fortunately, Celebrity Pets balances the duo’s manic satire with some equally strong pop tunes, like the Costello-esque lead single “Sleep.” Of course, even in these relatively calmer moments, Pierce’s keen eye on the crowd doesn’t falter; when he twists an old nursery rhyme into “first comes love, and now the hesitation,” I at least can immediately recall a thousand times that I almost reached out to someone and couldn’t, even before Facebook or Twitter. Could our carefully segmented social spheres hold us back from the marriage and the baby carriage? Or were some of us just stuck in a rut to begin with?
All this and more adds up to a solid first outing, albeit one cut criminally short. Celebrity Pets also doesn’t quite convey the quaint country side to Post Hunk’s exuberant live shows, where Pierce and Teich remind you that they’re really just sweet Southern boys at heart with ears for a good yarn. Granted, that may just mean that the zany duo’s infiltration of the status quo works best in the dives where those calcified cool circles actually congregate. But until that chance comes back around, Celebrity Pets nevertheless answers the basic question that comes with the name Post Hunk—so what does that mean?—with enough verve to convince you that they are, in fact, way better than hunks. Or dad bods, for that matter.
Post Hunk will celebrate the release of Celebrity Pets on Sat., June 30 at the Chiropractor on Moreland. They will be accompanied by Dear Blanca, King Vulture, and Michael Myerz.
More Info
Bandcamp: posthunk.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @PostHunk
Instagram: @posthunkatl
Twitter: @PostHunk