Sorry, Too Busy Feeling Feelings: Mallcops’ 'The Funniest Joke You've Ever Told' is an Addiction

This is not abandonment. This is just your common sense. - "Ambulances" by Mallcops

"The lyrics always come first. 'The Funniest Joke You've Ever Told’ is the first part in a much larger story."

'The Funniest Joke You've Ever Told' is a record of monumental content. Put it on your iPod, listen to it on your way to work, and listen to it on your way home. Add it to your gym mix and run until your heart feels like it's about to explode. Listen to it when you're sober, and when you've had a few; and before you go to bed at night. Listen to it to feel something, to remember something, to regret something, and to justify something. Listen to it because Mallcops has perfectly articulated the most uncomfortable, awkward and emotionally vulnerable time in a relationship more than you ever could.

“All of the songs are inspired by real life events,” Joey Del Ponte (bass/vox) tells Bishop & Rook. “Drew [Moro] (guitar/vox) and I are the main lyricists and we kind of cut and pasted our poetry and journal entries… to create a story. We we're going through two very similar situations at the time, so it was easy to bond over what we were feeling. The lyrics always come first. 'The Funniest Joke You've Ever Told’ is the first part in a much larger story."

A close listen reveals that the protagonist comes full circle between the start and end of this record, initially lying to a former love about dreaming of getting married in “Muffled Little Eulogies” to admitting, in detail, of actually having the dream in “80 Reasons Why”. “Yeah, the protagonist does, in a way, come full circle in this EP. But coming full circle isn’t always a positive thing,” Del Ponte explains. “Realizing you’re right back where you started (especially after a painful journey through depression and anxiety and fear) is pretty shitty. It almost makes everything you went through feel like a dream.” However Del Ponte reminds us that this 4-song EP is just the beginning as the band prepares to release a second record. 

'The Funniest Joke You've Ever Told' is available on cassette tape and CD via Non-Denominational Emo Records and as a digital download (at a name your price donation) on Bandcamp.

Keep up with Mallcops by following the band on Facebook and Twitter, and joining their mailing list when you download their free EP.


Related Stories:
Rock Out With Your Cocktail Out Vol. XLI