Down For Tomorrow, a Sydney based quartet, have nailed the number one defining feature of pop punk, angst. Moving forward from their single ‘What Could Have Been’, released earlier this year, the band has tapped into some genuine and real emotion. Their latest release ‘Thanks To You’ is the title track of their forthcoming sophomore EP of the same name. With some autobiographical lyrics and a painful narrative, the track is, if nothing else, authentic.

Falling somewhere between Silverchair and Blink-182, Down For Tomorrow have nailed the pop punk sound. Grungy guitars, heavy drums and a vocalist that holds nothing back combine to give the band a comprehensive and familiar sound. However, where this track stands out is in the story it tells. The soft and reserved instrumentation in the verses give the lyrics, discussing frustration and pain over a lost friendship, a sombre tone. This has the effect of drawing the listener in, not just emotionally but also aurally. In the verses, there isn’t much to take in besides the lyrics, which only builds anticipation for the chorus. When the chorus does roll around, the instruments explode in a flourish of distorted power chords and crashing cymbals. The music rises to the occasion to meet the lead singer’s emotional outpour. If the verse display a melancholic guilt over lost friendship, the chorus, “So that’s the price I pay, a knife straight through my back. I hope you get what you deserve”, is a middle finger in the air to one-way relationships and fake friends. Front man Cody Stebbings’s vocal performance is raw, giving it his all. Without such commitment to the emotion of the lyrics, the track would fall apart. However, Stebbings’s personal connection to the tale he weaves imbues the song with authenticity. They aren’t playing up to a pop punk sound, but reflecting this sound through a heartfelt, powerful and emotional performance.

On the lyrics, Stebbings said:

“’Thanks To You’ explores the feelings of anger and confusion I had at a time when a very important friendship in my life abruptly ended. It starts off, word for word, with me recounting the text I woke up to that morning, and trying to understand why this person no longer needed me in their life, when they were still such a huge part of mine. The song is about one-way friendships and the effect it can have in someone who invests a lot of time into someone who couldn’t return it.”

Down For Tomorrow’s sophomore EP, Thanks To You, is scheduled for release Friday, June 7.