You're right , there's no reason to fear Pop - oriented Punk , in The Buzzocks / Vibrators / Boys (and Undertones , Dickies , etc.) kinda vein , but "Pop Punk "as a genre , in all it's whiny, bed - wetting glory, detracts from the idea of real hooks and real songwriting . It'd be great if more bands could fuse the two , Punk and Pop , into something not , as we say in the states , wussy - sounding. Maybe you say the same thing ! But , The #1s aren't doing it for me that much....I intend to give them more of a chance, but, upon first listen , they're far superior to American 90's Pop Punk , though they don't sound like they're breaking any new ground.
That said , I think they'll make it. It would be cool if Ireland had an internationally popular band , again , that could make us forget U2's inexplicable rise to world dominance (I really thought they'd peaked around 1983-4. Little did I know.) .
The comparison to Denton , Texas is interesting. I did'nt know Denton had any distinctive sound , and only learned , about 8 years ago , that they'd long since usurped Dallas as the live music center of North Texas. In 1980 - 81, when I first went to shows in Denton , with my Brother , the whole scene pretty much consisted of a then- still great Brave Combo , and unknown , to this day , bands like The Frenetics , Chef Physique , and The Jetsons. When I read about Denton's burgeoning scene , people usually start in the early 90's , as though nothing happened there , previously. There was Bliss (Punk/Rock) , Snake Farm (Funny Punk) Charred (No Wave - ish.) , and Whirlygigs (60's Power Pop) , and myself (Trash.) . Original bands from the 80's have been wiped clean from everyone's memory. There were no places for "Punk" bands to play , except house parties , prior to then. Dallas did'nt recognize Denton , which is only an hour away , and , now , Denton is'nt recognizing Dallas.
Sorry , I know that has nothing to do with this band. I'm just reminded of when Denton was barely a blip on the radar , barring North Texas State University's Jazz Band.