Birthday Candles

There's a bit of pop punk's upbeat, defiant, hopeful energy coming off the songs on Letters From Home, the latest from Birthday Candles. But there's also more sonic detail in the melodies than is often encountered in a lot of that music. "Otherside" and "Without a Trace" begin with a more delicate touch than the other three songs, but they also engage in the kind of anthemic progressions you'd expect from any melodic punk band with a leg in the relatively more complex emotional dimensions of emo. All genre considerations aside, these five tunes sound as if they were written at the end of a chapter of a life rather than employing the usual tropes found in too much punk of late. Think more Gaslight Anthem than Blink-182, songs that are genuinely earnest rather than maudlin. - Westword Denver Magazine

With a combination of members from both Florida and Colorado, Birthday Candles began by sending demos across the country and has developed into a five song EP that will release in early November. In order to introduce you to their catchy, breezy melodies and passionate lyrics, they’ve created a three song Demo for FEST. Check out the songs in the player below and stay tuned for release details on their debut EP.
Demo for Fest was recorded at This is Not Dead Studios. Birthday Candles will be handing out copies at Fest so be on the lookout. - For The Love Of Punk

Birthday Candles — Punk going acoustic is nothing new; legions of pop­punk frontmen like Chuck Ragan and Matt Pryor have made seamless transitions from Marshall stacks to Martin strums. Florida quartet Birthday Candles typically amplify their emotive pop­punk anthems, but this Red Door show finds the band unplugged. But their songs, like the ones from last year’s Letters From Home, should translate well enough without volume — though they’ll probably lose a bit of their needed visceral impact. - Free Times

Birthday Candles are kind of from Florida. All of their members are from here except for their drummer, John. He’s from Denver. What an awesome dude that guy is. Killer band, too. They remind me of The Menzingers. - DyingScene.com

If Indie Pop Punk does not warm your heart you are probably heartless.

Indie pop punk, it even sounds like a bright and shiny summer’s day more than a musical genre. This trusty troop of troubadours fly the banner up high, almost as high as the spirit of their 2013 release Letters From Home. Birthday Candles struck me in the heart, reminding me of a cross between Saves the Day and Said the Whale. Sound-wise, they hold down the happy go lucky chord structure and contemplative lyrics that you come to expect from any band that flies the pop punk moniker, along with a sophisticated silliness that comes with every track on Letters From Home. So let’s fly through this playback, on a journey of questioning this world we live in, lightly sprinkled with candies and lollipops.

The album opens with “Where We Belong,” getting straight to the heart of what Birthday Candles represents, a pensive mindstate that beckons you to address reality of society accompanied by an adorable soundtrack. The idea of the line sung by Matt which goes a lil something like, “they won’t take us away, from where we belong,” takes me back to being a rebellious shit-starting 13 year old who only knew rules were made to be broken, and that little dude has never died. Truth of the matter, which goes hand in hand with the truth of this striking lyric, is that when you are a non-complacent questioner of the general state of things, no one or no specific thing can sway or take you away from that state of mind, and when music inspires that feeling in your soul, it is needless to say that someone is doing something right.

What are Birthday Candles without wishes? Let this band explain it to you with their second track off their EP, a chanty anthem of what wishes are truly made of, cheerful hope that whatever comes of one’s wish will last. In true pop punk fashion, “Wishes” gives you the feel goods and just like the candles which grant you your wish, it is blown out just as quickly as it was lit.

Not to worry ‘cause Birthday Candles are quick to take you to their “Otherside” with a track that really reminds me of the good hearted fun that Said the Whale captures so well with their sound, but still has a very somber reality. Whatever the otherside is, Birthday Candles paint a beautiful and heartfelt image for it somewhere between the perfect summer night, lakeside, with a bonfire roaring, and the serene heavens in the clouds.

Chiming in next is yet another light hearted and smile-inducing song whose chant invitation may have you singing right along with the boys in the band. “Only Time Will Tell” will make you realize that Birthday Candles have found a comfy little spot on your soft side and the only thing that could make you love them more is just one more track which they give to you in an acoustic sing along by the name of “Without a Trace.”

Hats off to Birthday Candles for capturing a feeling of helplessness which is only accompanied with riffs and parts so sweet it is almost as if someone is patting you on the back and telling you, “everything is gonna be alright, dude.” I give Birthday Candles a 7/10 for a great pick me up album, that might make you reminisce about moments that left you in tears, because let’s face it, if the music doesn’t make you feel anything, then it just plain sucks. - Bucket List

In a rare coincidence of form and function, Birthday Candles sound exactly like the name suggests -- a shimmering salute laden with hope, possibility, doubt, and regret. The West Palm Beach Fla quartet bristles with ringing power chords, crisp writing, and earnest sentiment suggesting something between punk-pop and power-pop. The rhythms are punchy and the lyrics delivered with a punky bite, but the arrangements are more supple and agile than typical punk-pop, reminiscent of Possum Dixon or the Plimsouls. Its the type of music that really shines when delivered with intensity and intelligence, both attributes Birthday Candles have in spades. The lyrics are also particularly sharp and memorable. Vocalist Matt Garamy sings on the anthemic "Where We Belong". Another striking tune is the acoustic guitar driven paean "Without a Trace" Garamy sings on a track steeped equally in hope and regret. Their skill suggests even better things are to come. - Charleston City Paper

Next came the Birthday Candles which dealt in a sort of turn of the millennium pop-punk a la New Found Glory. The band showed some obvious talent. - Miami New Times