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Photo: Jonathan Weiner

Meet Me @ The Altar's long-awaited debut has finally arrived, and it is perfection. Past // Present // Future might be the band's debut, but they've already cemented a place for themselves in the pop-punk scene since they broke out with the single "Garden" in 2020. In the 11-track album, they honor the icons that came before them, celebrate their current successes, and speak to their limitless potential future, intertwining 2000s pop-punk attitude with fresh, creative vocal runs, pulsing drum beats, and scratchy, distorted guitar.

In the record opener, "Say It To My Face," the band declares they are done proving themselves to people. Lead vocalist Edith Victoria sings, "I'm a bitch and my band is an industry plant / At least that's what it says on the internet." Guitarist Téa Campbell and drummer Ada Juarez show they are powerhouses in their right with imaginative and cutting-edge skills. Built on a foundation of soaring choruses and chunky, raging guitar riffs, "Say It (To My Face)" is about shutting down anonymous social-media haters, kicking off the album on an incredible high.

Album highlight and previously released single "Kool" showcases Edith's vocals at her absolute best, with delightfully cocky verses and a breathtaking belt for the chorus. The adoring track is a pop-rock sweetness that never threatens to become sickly. "Try" and "T.M.I." contain aspects of the anxiety we heard on their debut EP, bringing an engaging, frenetic pop-punk sound to the forefront. The latter of the two explores imposter syndrome, oversharing, and trauma dumping.

After the swagger and snot-fueled break-up anthem that is "Same Language," the record slows things down with the arrival of "A Few Tomorrows." The track is a passionate, romantic ballad that strips things down amid the myriad of short, high-octane songs. Other standout tracks include the powerful "Need Me," the sucker-punching "It's Over For Me," the heart-racing "Rocket Science," and the head-bob inducing "Thx 4 Nothin.'" "Thx 4 Nothin'," in particular, is an intoxicating effort propelled by palm-muted chugging between chords and showcases Edith's effortless chameleon-like ability to transform into varying vocal styles. This leads to the album's rallying closer, "King of Everything." In the finale, the band reflects on the future and what's mapped out in front of them as they begin a new era and tie the album together with a big, booming outro.

Meet Me @ The Altar are not a token or a fad band that will fade into obscurity. On the contrary, they are the future of the scene and present themselves as three musicians who have earned their laurels by holding close one of the most important things to any artist's success in pop-punk, and that's having a little fun. Past // Present // Future smashes every box the band has been forced into. It sets them on their own path and does what it masterfully promises in its title, melding past influences into something modern, achieving the rare feat of making pop-punk still sound unique.

Listen to Past // Present // Future below: