People Pleasers Pleasing People is the alliteratively pleasing title of the second album from US band Strange Neighbors. This was my first experience of the band—and as someone who was raised on the pop-punk soundtracks of late ’90s and early 2000s coming-of-age comedies, I was immediately intrigued. Think American Pie, Josie and the Pussycats, 10 Things I Hate About You (possibly the greatest teen film of the ’90s in my humble opinion, complete with an iconic soundtrack—yes please). That kind of era. The moment I saw those references, I knew I had to give this album a spin.
And what a joy it is. People Pleasers Pleasing People is packed with relatable, riff-heavy power pop bangers, all served with a slightly crunchy rock edge. Tracks like Crush could slot perfectly into the soundtrack of any of those classic films—equal parts catchy, vulnerable, and full of emotional teenage urgency (and I say that as a compliment).
One of my standout tracks is Without a Head—a song for the overthinkers and the anxious minds among us. The concept of wishing you could give up your head altogether just to escape the endless spiral of thoughts and emotional tug-of-war? Oh, I feel that. Hard. And the lyric “The loudest voice of them all is the one that lives inside my head” just hits a little too close to home.
What makes this album really stick, though, is its emotional core. There’s a real sense of bittersweetness running through it—what Strange Neighbors describe as a “laugh now, cry later” energy. Lyrically, they dive into some big feelings: the urge to numb out in a chaotic world, the heaviness of heartbreak, the messiness of letting go, and the painful truth that sometimes love simply isn’t enough.
But they don’t wallow. Instead, they move through all this with upbeat grooves, infectious melodies, and self-aware humour. It’s introspective without losing its fun, heartfelt without ever becoming saccharine. Or in the band’s own words: “Life is too short to not have fun—life is too short to not still try and dance.”
And People Pleasers Pleasing People will absolutely have you dancing. Even if it’s in your room, in your pyjamas, while you overthink everything. Just me?
People Pleasers Pleasing People is out now and you can get it here
Strange Neighbors Socials: Instagram/Facebook/
Review by Hayley Foster da Silva
Keep up to date with all new content on Joyzine via our
Facebook | Bluesky | Instagram | Threads | Mailing List