Games We Play

Emerging toward the end of the 2010s, the Los Angeles pop-punk outfit Games We Play specializes in brisk, melody-driven tracks laced with clever and relatable lyrics that echo earlier acts such as All Time Low and blink-182. The band achieved sudden online traction at the start of the 2020s through tracks including “Deadbeat” and “I Hope You’re Happy.” Once they inked a deal with DCD2 Records, the Fueled by Ramen imprint, their 2022 EP Get a Job drew wider notice, and the group capitalized on that momentum with the March 2024 release of their first full-length album, Life’s Going Great.

Fronted by singer and guitarist Emmyn Calleiro, Games We Play coalesced near 2016 and began issuing material on their own. Although wider recognition arrived only after several years, Calleiro’s knack for strong pop melodies and incisive wordplay surfaced early, and following a period of uneven progress the band secured its breakthrough. Their undeniably hook-laden 2021 single “Deadbeat” started circulating widely on social platforms, which led to their signing with DCD2 Records—the Fueled by Ramen label overseen by All Time Low’s Pete Wentz. The imprint’s first Games We Play project, the Get a Job EP, paired “Deadbeat” with the acrimonious breakup track “I Hope You’re Happy,” the latter quickly emerging as their signature song. Extensive touring throughout the United States and Europe followed, culminating in the arrival of Life’s Going Great in March 2024.