The Disappointments - Reasons to Revolt (Fierce Panda)
4/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
Bollocks of massive proportion are needed to pull of a band name like The Disappointments, and even bigger ones to hold guitar arrangements this grimy and grand, so big in fact that they overpower anything that the no doubt American rock influences of this Stoke band can congregate. OK, so you can put them next to the Transplants, Rancid etc, etc, and it'll hold up, but what's more important is that you can place it in the modern punk scene, see Gallows and Enter Shikari, and it will still seize its own identity. This, in essence, isn't a bunch of kids playing old style rock that will spark an instant rapport with an existing scene, but agitatingly smear the lines between grown-up, bigger anthemic punk and the new thrashing, hardcore indie movement. We're so lucky to be around at a time when genres are almost meaningless as so many bands transcend mere pigeonholing, and The Disappointments are certainly a brilliant example of new thinking.
The few tracks that make this mini album aren't going to turn you on to this style of aggressive rock if you're not already there, but if you're teetering on the edge, cautiously looking into the sweat and dust of whacked mosh pits, then this might just push you over. How you ask. Well, with monumental guitars and almost incoherently chaotic drumming that leaves even the most cynic of grunge fan doing that all important head-bang for the first time, bewildered by the sense of guitar induced musical ear-gasms to which is almost the archetype throughout the EP.
Realistically, it's all a bit anachronistic, the idea of shouting no matter how dramatically and animated over some coarse strings and chunky bass lines is nothing of a new approach and won't exactly set the world burning with rays of critical acclaim, but what they have done is make a hard, like unbelievably hard, rock record that's actually rather painless to listen to. It works outside of the live setting too, which is really where the adolescents shine, however not their music's only approachable means. It's rare that a piece of noise can be so endearing played through your headphones it rakes in compulsions to stomp the grounds of your home with as much passion as you would a venue, and it's that intrinsic notion that allows this to sustain a purpose beyond that of a lot of shit that's floating around in a so called rock age. Please, Stoke - can we have some more?
Stream three tracks from 'Reasons to Revolt' HERE.
Artists in this article: The Disappointments
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