It was only the other day that I was bemoaning the state of the punk scene, and hailed Cerebral Ballzy as exponents of proper punk. And then 'Our Ears Are Bleeding', the debut album by Bristolian punk upstarts Everything We Left Behind lands with me and reminds me precisely what I was beefing about.
That they've been favourably compared to – and invite comparisons to bands such as NOFX (sorry, 'US punk legends NOFX', according to the press release... please!) and Captain Everything – suggests that they're coming from the 'modern' punk lineage... but is it punk? Sidestepping that question, how about the most important question here: is it any good?
Well, it's very much up for debate. After all, to beef that the singer in a punk band is a bit lacking I the tune department is like complaining about the lack of meat in a McDonalds burger. But there are other issues that make this album less than the explosive attack on radio-friendly pop the band thinks it is.
There doesn't appear to be any acceptance of the irony of 'Generica', which rails against mainstream uniformity while sounding like every third-generation US punk act since 1996, playing fast and furious and spitting the spleen-venting lyrics with a well-rehearsed sneer nicked straight off Blink 182's Mark Hoppus, and it's not like he's never heard of Johnny Rotten either. It sets the template for the rest of the album. I feel I should commend its relentless energy, but instead find that the formulaic rabble-rousing grows tiresome as fast as the band dispense cliches and reel off by-numbers stompers. It does seem to undermine their point somewhat to blast against conformity while slavishly following another well-trodden musical path.
|
I also get the feeling that they're just trying too hard - songs such as 'A Town Called Nowhere' and 'No Friend of Mine' are straight out of the catalogue of nihilistic punk rock cliches, and when they try to be punny or funny, it just seems rather forced - like the warning on the album cover that reads 'Warning: you have been warned!' or the final track, 'It's Not Plagiarism, It's Just Similar'. Yet for all the effort – and no doubt sweat and spit – they're put into their music, it's ultimately just so much bluster.
Everything We Left Behind on MySpace
|
