Labels: Beach Community – Specialist Subject
Review by: Rob Mair
It’s a cliché, but if something isn’t broken, it doesn’t need fixing. And it’s fair to say that although these Cornish punk n’ rollers have tinkered at the edges of their gruff yet accessible sound, this is very much business as usual.
The tweaks are marginal but noticeable. For example, the use of a horn section on ‘A Curious Mix’ is both clever and understated, ensuring it doesn’t descend into ska-punk hell, while ‘Bad Jokes’ sees them play with the tempo and pacing, with mixed results (the second half is significantly better than the plodding opening minute and a half).
That said, Bangers are all about the big sing-alongs and fist-in-the-air rabble-rousing moments, and ‘Crazy Fucking Dreams’ is packed full of them. ‘The Pits’ is a bouncy pop-punk blast that deserves to see moshpits get sweaty, while the equally excellent ‘The Local News’ and ‘Blind Hindsight’ are similarly charged and exciting.
Bangers do what they do very well, and while ‘Crazy Fucking Dreams’ doesn’t see them push too far out of their comfort zone, there’s little danger of them feeling stale or trite due to the infectiousness of the majority of songs on offer.