Right off the bat, the opening guitar riff to “Superstitions” lets us know this isn’t going to be the bright, silly pop-punk we grew up on. Thru It All isn’t asking us to laugh and run along the beach with them on a perfect California day, they’re inviting us into a haunted house. The opening guitar is dark, dirty, and melodic, and when the whole band comes in, with that eerie synth buried in there like a zombie on the verge of waking up, we know not to expect any Na Na Na’s to sing along to, instead, we expect an ass kicking.
And what would a haunted house be without “a black cat with glowing eyes?” These are the lyrics front-man Nick Jordan hits you with right as we get into the first verse. The melody’s solid. The vocals have attitude. The drums are crisp, and heavy-hitting. The guitar’s giving us chunky, heavy palm mutes. Everything’s working, and we’re moving right along but before you know it everything drops out, leaving us alone with that synth and echoes of Jordan’s voice. Ah, these pop-punkers are familiar with dynamics! They hook us in with the loud, hard, and fast stuff just to give us a much-needed lull, a temporary lull, of course, because here comes that first chorus, which provides a lot of good material to sink our fangs into, especially lyrically. In fact, the chorus sums up what this song boils down to, which, according to Jordan, is about facing fear.
Now, what would this tune be without a few breakdowns? We’re hit with the first one right after that first chorus. Solid. Then, guitarist/vocalist Daniel Dew takes the reigns for the second verse. (Sharing the limelight is noble of Jordan, whose movie star good looks could have given him reason enough to want all the attention for himself.) Dew’s vocals reach higher, which is refreshing, and his vibrato gives a nice flavor to things. Then somebody screams, not sure who, but we can dig it.
Before you know it, the song’s about to end, though we don’t want it to. But this is, after all, a punk song. And punk’s about saying to hell with the rules, and the final thirty-five seconds of this banger is no exception. After another tense build-up, instead of a final chorus, we’re treated to the breakdown to end all breakdowns, taking us all the way out. By the time this anthem ends, we’re exhausted, but in a good way. What a ride. All in all, “Superstitions” is explosive, the kind of tune that makes you want to get up and get moving. Thru It All has given us a full tour of their haunted house, and we’re loving every room, nook, and cranny.
