If you've been visiting this site for any length of time you'll know that I've been railing against the pathetic state of punk rock for some time. It's been too safe and too predictable for too long.Why do veteran acts like Bad Religion, Pennywise, Rancid, and Dropkick Murphys have to shoulder the burden? Where is the next generation of great punk rock? For every Riverboat Gamblers or Angainst Me! there are hundreds, if not thousands of Simple Plans, My Chemical Romances or Good Charlottes being marketed to kids as though they were real punk rock.
Every once in a while though, there is an up-and-coming band that embraces the ethos, if not necessarily traditional sound, of punk.
Worcester, MA's The Way Out Is Through is one of those bands. They have recently released their debut EP Bandages.
TWOIT definitely don't come from the Oi! branch of the punk family tree. Their experiments with tempo, time signatures, and basic song structure owe more to the likes of Ian McKaye rather than The Clash. The quiet/loud/quiet dynamic of songs like "Endorphin" are vintage Fugazi. The "Bonus Track" seems to use Rage Against The Machine as its muse.
Often angular and cold, the band does punch up their sound with the daring inclusion of keys on tracks like "1900". It serves as an interesting contrast to the Mike Watt-style basslines and tumbling drum beats.
The production and mix on Bandages does leave a little to be desired. The record comes off as a little thin, despite their being six guys in the band.
Bandages is a promising start for a young band. Maybe there is hope for punk yet.
Best tracks: "Don't Care", "Source of Strength"
Track listing for Bandages:
- Endorphin
- Source of Strength
- Necronomicon
- Don't Care
- My Best Shot
- 1900
- Bonus Track
6.0/10
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