Pop-punk bands collecting rare cuts, bootlegs and B-sides have become just that: a rarity. Most bands get easily embarrassed by their early albums — Brand New’s Jesse Lacey moved on from the girl problems that plagued him on “Your Favorite Weapon,” Fall Out Boy’s lyrics on “Evening Out With Your Girlfriend” read like bad LiveJournal poetry, and The Wonder Years grew out of writing songs about Captain Crunch. It happens.

That’s not the case for Say Anything wordsmith Max Bemis. Instead of burying his earliest demos, he embraced them. “All My Friends Are Enemies” is a three-disc, 45-song affair of crunchy power chords and sneering cynicism with a twist of wide-eyed, youthful optimism. The collection spans from demos Bemis cut from his college dorm room to Say Anything’s tough-to-track-down freshman album, “Baseball.” Although it’s a bear to listen to in one sitting, it makes for a fascinating glance inside the mind of a prolific young songwriter battling mental issues.

Even with polished production, the songs on “All My Friends Are Enemies” are still incredibly raw. Fist-pumpers like “Colorblind” and “Showdown at P-Town” off “Baseball” still maintain Bemis’ biting vocals and feedback-riddled guitar, but are just a little glossier. And on anthems like “The Last Great Punk Rock Song” and “That’s That (Do What We Want),” Say Anything’s label shows a deft hand at re-mastering. The songs have never sounded crisper, but keep with their youthful, anarchic spirit.

But chances are, if you call yourself a Say Anything fan, you’ve heard “Baseball” before, which makes the other two discs a more compelling listen than the first. While disc one shows a Bemis that’s confident as a prolific songwriter, discs two and three are more of a character study of the often-troubled singer.

“A Boston Peace” aches with frustration over a failing romance and “Nudity” is a harrowing look at Bemis’ insecurities. The songwriter’s well-documented history of anxiety and bipolar disorder lends itself well to the pent-up anger behind “You Help Them” and volatile “Until the Bombs.”

But Bemis’ first attempts at his all-baring writing style makes lovesick little tunes like “I Want to Know Your Plans” and “A Walk Through Hell” all the more charming. There’s even a nod to one of Bemis’ favorite bands: a well-strummed cover of Saves The Day’s “Jessie and My Whetstone.”

Listen to a handful of songs written by 16-year-old Bemis (who wouldn’t pen “…Is A Real Boy” for a few more years) on disc three and some glaring flaws are painfully obvious. He’s downright sappy and kitschy on “High School Low,” and the aptly titled “Sappy” and “Anti-Anti” wear their young and silly philosophies on their sleeves. But that’s the beauty of a rarities album. Thirteen years later, the songs don’t stand alone as an EP, they weave together a colorful oral history of Bemis as both a person and songwriter, from dorm rooms to packed clubs.

That said, “All My Friends Are Enemies” is definitely not for everyone. Casual Say Anything fans won’t find the glossy-pop sheen of the band’s self-titled album here. It lacks the eclectic ensembles of “In Defense of the Genre” and the hopeless romanticism of “Anarchy, My Dear.” Heck, even fans who like Say Anything for their hits (“Alive with the Glory of Love,” “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too”) might walk away bummed, even though this catalog is rife with bouncy pop-punk melodies.

But as a prologue to scene classic “…Is a Real Boy?,” it’s fantastic. Pull on your headphones, flip open the liner notes and keep a sharp ear open for Bemis’ emotionally charged lyricism. It might not be your own young adult years — nostalgia, young love and heartbreak included — that you’re listening to, but “All My Friends Are Enemies” hits pretty damn close to home for anyone who endured an awkward youth.

Published on January 28, 2013 at 9:42 pm

Contact Erik: ervanrhe@syr.edu | @therealvandyman