The clock is counting down to midnight on a Friday night at Lemmon's. After some knob-fiddling and shot/water retrieval from the bar, the band begins its set, as some more friends and fans run back in after finishing their cigarettes outside. The next 25 or so minutes become a blur of head-nodding, uncontrollable leg-shaking and drink-spilling. The punk rock/sports bar-hybrid shakes as the band barrels through a set of intense but toe-tappingly and/or groin-grabbingly catchy songs. The vocals contain actual singing, with lyrics being belted out that seem overtly cathartic. You just want to ball these songs up in your hands, throw them into your car, and lock them inside of it. That way you can drive around rainy streets at night, beating on your steering wheel and working out whatever shit you're going through. At least, that's the effect Breakmouth Annie has on me. Listen to "Tiny Battles" for yourself and see if you don't react in a similarly ridiculous fashion.
As much as the members may be sick of the Jawbreaker comparisons, the influence is showing on their sleeve (even if they want to cover it up). They have that same "I do this instead of go to a shrink" feel to their songs that Blake Schwarzenbach's old outfit had. Comparisons aside, for the past three years, Breakmouth Annie has been sweating it up in almost every DIY venue that hosts pop punk shows. To label under the sub genre of pop punk seems almost belittling, because this knocks out bands like All Time Low and New Found Glory with a solid 1-2, "fuck you" combo.
Singer/Guitarist Bob Monroe, veteran of the neighboring Alton, Illinois punk scene since the '90s, has the postive outlook and upbeat, non-jaded nature of a younger punk. Maybe it's writing songs like "Don't Start Believin'" that keep his good spirits up. Two Joshes round out the rhythm section (insane bass-line composer Josh Van Hoorebeke and the driving drumming of Josh Edwards, also drummer of Everything Went Black). Together the trio writes songs that will get stuck in your head for days at a time.
