Gym Class Heroes

Andy Wang

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 | midnight

Still totally punk but a bit less emo on their new album, arch hip-hopper Travis McCoy and his merry band know they’re ballers now. As McCoy cheerily declares on “Peace Sign/Index Down,” he used to be a fat kid, a “chubby little bastard” gorging on Little Debbie snacks and cracking jokes in class to make the “pretty young things” laugh. But though he used to be “Brooklyn broke” and now he’s “upstate rich,” McCoy’s not about to get complacent and stop stirring shit up and amassing even more riches: “Now, it’s a lot of y’all that can’t stand me/’Cause my resemblance to Prince is uncanny/But fuck you this is for my family.”

If that message isn’t clear enough, Busta Rhymes’ appearance on the song largely involves him declaring, “Fuck you because I do this for my loved ones.” Funny thing is, though, the song doesn’t mention actual bling, so you have no idea if mama’s getting a new M3 or baby’s getting a new pair of shoes or the promise ring McCoy gave to famous girl-kisser Katy Perry was made by Van Cleef & Arpels.

Whatever. That song is one of numerous quirky delights, with the band playing swingy rock arrangements while McCoy drops lines that reminds you that these are New York children of the ’80s who have Long Island (not the Hamptons, of course) pride—middle-class kids who know they can buy all the G.I. Joe figurines they want.

Even more decadent: “Cookie Jar,” which is like a song R. Kelly would write if he had slightly more inhibitions, musically and lyrically. McCoy can rap about family all he wants, but this tune, about how hard it is to be faithful when there’s a steady stream of willing hotties nearby, is the first single.

It’s a fun song, but not as fun as “Guilty as Charged,” in which British diva Estelle teaches these very American boys a few things about soul. And while McCoy knows he’s not really a gangster, he seems to have a lot of time to watch The Wire, and he’s got Estelle asking him to two-step. Yeah, this is pretty much the life.