Over the past few years, ’00s Hot Topic bands defined by earnest melodrama have caught a second wind and influenced a new crop of stars. For every reappraisal, though, there’s a dozen acts from that era whose musical maximalism and kitschy aesthetics still feel cold to the touch—at least, to most everyone but Cheem. On their new album , the pop-rock five-piece couldn’t be more proud to reclaim their aughts touchstones. The album is an indulgent sundae of sugary harmonies, mall-punk choruses, turntable scratches, and electro-pop beats—like A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out if Hellogoodbye and 311 were featured artists. When you lean on subgenres and stylistic choices widely regarded as cheesy, the project you started for fun quickly becomes the hand that puts the “Kick me” sign on your back. “Critics slam your favorites/Change your mind ’cause you feel like you have to,” Sam Nazaretian complains on “Cheem Szn,” taking comfort in making an argument for unpretentious self-expression in itself.