Local Review: The 95 Slide – Bad Backs and Panic Attacks

The 95 Slide
Bad Backs and Panic Attacks
Self-Released
Street: 03.22
The 95 Slide = Blink 182 + New Found Glory

The pop punk album you didn’t know you were missing is here, and it’s by The 95 Slide, with Bad Backs and Panic Attacks. The 95 Slide are a pop-punk band from Salt Lake City, lovingly dubbed “Pop punk for parents,” that has that classic early 2000s sound of Warped Tour, skateboarding after school, and TRL music video countdowns. If you are nostalgic for your high school years but still want to listen to something fresh, this record is for you. 

The 95 Slide are a duo—Sam Sorensen and Tanner Danielson. They released their first single, “Grasping At Straws,” in 2020. Bad Backs And Panic Attacks is their first full-length LP. 

Bad Backs and Panic Attacks explores themes of growing up, letting people go and healing, while fighting through imposter syndrome to believe in yourself. The sounds of the record are classic pop-punk, carried by upbeat, fast-paced drums and wicked electric guitar and bass lines. It’s head-banging, scream-in-the-car music. My favorite tracks are “Regret Nothing,” “Spinning” and “Time Stands Still.”  The LPopens with “When We Were Young,” a track about losing a friend through the passage of time and missing them, wishing they’d come back. It sets the tone for the record—nostalgia for the past and hopefulness for a future where things are better. 

“Regret Nothing” is one of my favorite tracks because of how classically pop punk it sounds, it’s very New Found Glory, very Sugarcult. It’s upbeat, but with lyrics about going back and forth with a lover who isn’t the best for you. Drums and strong guitar riffs carry this song to make it a head-banging, catchy tune to blast in your car. 

“Spinning” is another track I adore—it’s about dealing with anxiety and jealousy, two very intense emotions that are paired with a fast rock sound. If it was 2007, it would fit so nicely next to Fall Out Boy and Paramore on the shelf, as it has that tinge of emo and young adult worries. 

Bad Backs and Panic Attacks finishes up with “Time Stands Still,” a track about asking a partner to take a chance on them, if just for a moment. It’s slower and a bit melodic,begging someone to stay when it’s too late. It’s also about acceptance, moving on with your life and healing from heartbreak.

I love Bad Backs and Panic Attacks because it’s so nostalgic and incredibly well done. It sounds familiar and feels good, like slipping into your worn-out favorite band hoodie while lacing up your old Chuck Taylors converse hidden in the back of your closet. I grew up obsessively listening to every pop-punk band I could find, and this record brings me back to that time, just with bigger, more grown-up feelings. It’s definitely worth the listen if you are a retired (or hopefully still thriving, like me) pop-punk kid. — Cherri Cheetah

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