Review / 200 Words Or Less
I Call Fives
First Things First

Open Your Eyes (2008) Michael

I Call Fives – First Things First cover artwork
I Call Fives – First Things First — Open Your Eyes, 2008

New Jersey natives I Call Fives offer up a style of pop-punk that have become increasingly popular in the past couple of years. You know the type. Fast and melodic punk meets bubblegum pop. The results are undoubtedly catchy, but it's a sound that is quickly becoming supersaturated. Thankfully, I Call Fives don't rely on neon-splattered logo t's and out of place hardcore breakdowns to get fans; and that is something that I admire.

Instead, I Call Five give us the infectious sing-alongs of "My Last Mistake" that bring to mind the early New Found Glory catalog mixed with a dash of the emo-leanings of Saves the Day. Cuts like "Twelve Credits Short" and "This Song is So

2006" bring to mind the days of the circa-2000 Drive-Thru Records catalog. So listening to this record is a bit nostalgic in that aspect.

First Things First is a pretty good debut effort. I can definitely find myself listening to this record when I need something upbeat to put me in a good mood

well of course that's if I can't find my New Found Glory CD's. Nevertheless, I can easily see them blowing up with the right exposure.

7.5 / 10Michael • March 18, 2009

I Call Fives – First Things First cover artwork
I Call Fives – First Things First — Open Your Eyes, 2008

Related news

I Call Fives: new EP w/ a reissue too (of sorts)

Posted in Records on February 11, 2023

No Sleep Signs I Call Fives

Posted in Labels on March 11, 2010

Recently-posted album reviews

Burned Up Bled Dry

Next Stop… Dead Stop…
Prank (2026)

There’s no easing into Next Stop… Dead Stop… No buildup, no warning just impact. Fayetteville, Arkansas’ Burned Up Bled Dry return from decades of dormancy with a debut full-length that feels less like a comeback and more like a long-awaited detonation. Formed in 1996 and tied to that gnarlier mid-south hardcore lineage alongside bands like His Hero Is Gone and … Read more

Blue Ash

Dinner At Mr. Billy’s
Peppermint Records (2026)

Most people treat the Blue Ash story like a collection of "almosts" and they are sure missing the point.Almost famous, almost signed, almost the American Beatles. Forget that, erase that fable from your feeble grey matter. Dinner at Mr. Billy’s—straight from the Peppermint Productions vaults—proves they weren't just "lost" contenders. They were the engine room of the Rust Belt. While … Read more

Luxury Teeth

DCxPC Live & Dead, Vol. 3
DCxPC Live (2024)

There’s something inherently appealing about a record that doesn’t try to hide what a band actually sounds like. DCxPC Live & Dead, Vol. 3 captures Luxury Teeth in two very different settings and more importantly, shows that neither version feels like a compromise. Side A, the “Live” portion, was recorded at the Ottobar in Baltimore while opening for GBH, and … Read more