The Paradox – NSFW

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Welcome to the pop-punk party, The Paradox! The band formed in June 2024, and is rounded out by vocalist/guitarist Eric Dangerfield, bassist Donald Bryant, lead guitarist/vocalist Xelan and drummer PC3. NSFW takes a blend of styles similar to Blink-182, Green Day, and Allister, all with a slick-sounding approach to their pop-punk attack. The Paradox are making an immediate impact on the scene with appearances at the latest iteration of the Vans Warped Tour and will be supporting All Time Low on their upcoming headlining tour of major venues across the U.S. While The Paradox lean heavily into the pop-punk bands they’re clearly influenced by here, NSFW is still a really fun debut from the Atlanta-based band.

”Get The Message” begins the EP with some trademark pop-punk “whoa-ohs” while Eric Dangerfield begins setting the stage with, “She hates when I listen to Blink / When I skate on the side of the street / She wants to change up everything about me / Her car cost more than my crib / And her dad, that dude is a dick / And I don’t want to ever be someone like him.” The lyrics are fairly simple and lean into pure pop-punk nostalgia thematically, but there’s no denying how catchy and great the overall delivery is here. “Do It Again” features some great, speedy pop-punk while building up to the anthemic party-starter chorus of, “I’m so sorry I get drunk and party / I’m a mess but trust me / Yeah I’ll do it again, I’ll do it again / My brain is dirty, and I know you worry about me / They can try to stop me / But I’ll do it again, I’ll do it again.” The frenetic drumming from PC3 is reminiscent of Blink-182’s Travis Barker, who makes his own cameo later on this EP, while the “na na na’s” in the bridge are straight out of the Blink playbook, for sure.

”Leave My Room” adds in a cool-sounding, mid-tempo rocker about growing up and uses themes of mental health and boredom. The pre-chorus of, “Guess your mom was right, I’m just a fuck-up / All I do is ruin my life,” is self-deprecating, but dripping with nasally-sounding vocals that sneer above the noise in a well-packaged plan of attack, musically. “Bender” is one of the first songs I heard from The Paradox, and the single showcases what the band is best at: writing quick pop-punk songs with big, sing-a-long choruses. The song features a guest spot from Travis Barker, while Eric Dangerfield and Xelan trade vocal parts in this song about losing control of ourselves when we should’ve known better. I thought that the bridge of “All of my friends left and I just lost my phone / I bum a cigarette and start walking home / There’s still half a drink in my plastic cup / And I take your street to see if you’re still up,” was well-orchestrated and helps round out the approach of the track as a whole.

”No Strings Attached” adds in a ballad to help solidify the band as much more than a one-speed band, as Eric shares in the second verse about a breezy relationship, “We don’t really need to complicate things / It ain’t nothing serious, nothing but a fling / Don’t need to put a label on it, saying shit we don’t mean / And make it more than it is, this is as good as it gets.” The EP closer, “Do Me Like That”, is drenched in New Found Glory-esque vibes with some great guitar parts, courtesy of Eric Dangerfield and Xelan, while bassist Donald Bryant puslates along over his bandmates’ every lyric.

There’s no denying that NSFW is a catchy as hell debut EP from The Paradox that would’ve dominated my summer if it came out during that time of the year. While the band is happy to pay homage to the bands they’re influenced by, I look forward to seeing how they continue to expand their sound and musical repertoire on subsequent albums and EPs.

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