If you missed them in the sea of bands at this year’s Warped Tour, do yourself a favor and check out the New York based Gym Class Heroes on their new release, “As Cruel As School Children”. The quartet weaves a highly entertaining blend of alternative rock and hip-hop, and creates a light and more humorous approach to their music.

Lead by frontman/MC Travis McCoy, the Heroes have pulled from a lot of different influences when they recorded their latest album. The band enlisted producer Sam Hollander, who has worked with Method Man and even Patrick Stump, from the hit band Fall Out Boy.

Since 2001, the Heroes have honed their chops on the New York indie circuit. One of their releases caught the eyes and ears of Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, who signed the band to his red-hot Decaydance/ Fueled By Ramen label. With Stump aboard to produce, and the support of the label, the Heroes seem poised to make the big jump forward to radio play and strong record sales.

On “As Cruel As School Children”, the group bounces between hip-hop and the modern rock sound that has the chance to appeal to two completely genres of music. The hip-hop is more present on cuts such as “It’s Ok, But Just This Once”, and “Shoot Down the Stars”, and still comes off as more fun than most of hip-hop today. The group shows off their rock side on the MySpace themed “New Friend Request” and the mid-tempo “7 Weeks”, featuring William Beckett, from the about-to-explode Chicago band The Academy Is….

But perhaps the most entertaining track is the reworking of the Jermaine Stewart 1980’s dance hit “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off”. The Heroes version is simply titled “Clothes Off”, and with a hook from Patrick Stump, “Clothes Off” could end up lighting up request lines later this year.

Even if you haven’t caught the Heroes yet, you may have heard another song by Travis McCoy. McCoy was part of the collaboration Cobra Starship, whose “Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)” (or better known as the theme of the pending B-movie classic “Snakes on A Plane”) is starting to climb the charts.

The Heroes (along with Cobra Starship) will be touring throughout the fall, starting September 14th through October 7th. So, if you are looking for a good way to reminisce about snakes on an airplane with Samuel L. Jackson, or just wanting to check out some fun & light hip-hop, go check out the Heroes.

Gym Class Heroes with special guest Cobra Starship will be at the Magic Stick on September 22nd.