REVIEW: steelboy - Thanks For The Invite...
- Julia Brunton
- May 4
- 3 min read
Richmond, VA punks STEELBOY keep it classic on their full-length debut Thanks for the Invite…, taking twelve tracks to run the gauntlet from 90s ska punk to pop punk. Lyrically tongue in cheek, the pop punk energy is distilled in musings on former relationships, with enough time taken at the end to talk about their favourite happy hour spot.
Thanks for the Invite… starts with Cliffhanger, which sets the angsty yet forlorn energy that embodies the rest of the project as STEELBOY recalls how they “made out in the mosh pit” and they “We’re cocky but [they] liked it.” The first half of Thanks for the Invite… isn’t all sunshine and rainbows when Last Summer starts, with a soundscape that reminds of GOLDFINGER, STEELBOY begs an ex to stop gossiping about what they did last summer, supplemented by the harmonies in the back and finished by a funky delayed end.
The standout for Thanks for the Invite… first third would be Hell No: a fuck the system song that features the only trumpets across the runtime. The trumpets punctuate a chord progression that’s easy to dance to while STEELBOY proclaims that “They won’t listen/Dissent is our only option”, and the chorus motif of repeating the last word or syllable is satisfying to the ear and made for live call and response.
As Thanks for the Invite… hits its stride the commentary on the current dating scene is tongue in cheek; No Lives Left laments a man who treats his lovers like the games he won’t hop off, the frustration embodied in the little scream as the instrumental breaks into a swinging movement. Chernobyl, a couple tracks later, uses the disaster (which was 40 years ago to the day a few days before the album’s release) as shorthand for a toxic love affair. Chernobyl leads towards the 90s punk fast tempos and keeps itself short and sweet like most of STEELBOY’s tracks, though by this point in the project some soloing would have been good to hear for a break in the structure of Thanks for the Invite...
In terms of pop punk the 'Why do you want them over me?’ trope is tried and true, and in XO it’s matched perfectly with ‘upbeat song angsty lyrics.’ XO begs for just one chance from someone still hung up on an ex partner. XO makes its point well over its two minutes then finishes with a flare, then is followed up by Tres Machos, a sweet track that starts a heavier set than a lot of Thanks for the Invite… so far. As the lyrics kick in it becomes clear that this is a love letter to their happy hour spot, proclaiming their love for their go to cheesy chips and rice and beans spot with a cheeky plug for it at the end.
The tonal contrast between Tres Machos and Buzzkill is satisfying; it’s a quick flip from love to hate as STEELBOY laments that the subject is in perpetual misery, bringing everybody else down and is “only happy when it rains.” Buzzkill is one of the longer and heavier tracks of Thanks for the Invite... and it is worth every second: the unrelenting punk drums move the sound in and out of halftime with ease, swinging their way through the runtime in places and stopping and starting to take a breath in the angstfest.
Rounding out Thanks for the Invite… is Honey, Honey, a ska punk version of the ABBA classic that forces a smile onto the face even if it doesn’t want to be there. The cover is as happy as it is punchy and is only missing some of the earlier trumpets. The final track The One adds a bit of grandeur for the finale through heavier crashes and keeping the angst with its theming on ‘the one that got away.’
Thanks for the Invite… is distilled 90s ska punk with pop punk that feels classic; STEELBOY make you want to dance despite the angst of the lyrics. The only drawbacks of STEELBOY’s debut may be the repetitive structure in each tracks finisher, but for a debut project Thanks for the Invite... speaks to quality to come.
Score: 7/10
Thanks For The Invite was released on 1st May 2026 via Punkerton Records.
Words: Julia Brunton
Photos: steelboy
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