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Bad Luck

Cold Bones

Written by: MN on 07/01/2015 16:54:27

Marginally different from what I have reviewed recently, reviewing Bad Luck really forced me to change my bearings and perspective to make an adequate judgement. Seeing as I personally have a passed love affair with the pop punk explosion of the early 2000's, I therefore return periodically to its heyday productions, but also check out contemporary releases, though I am admittedly quite rusty on what is out there. The Floridian quartet Bad Luck is a no-frills pop-punk band, but setting them apart in their maturity in song writing and the gritty edge anchored by the vocals of Evan Blaine, who couples brilliantly with Dominick Fox to provide guitar and vocals. The lyrical themes revolve around loss, romances, nostalgia and despair, clearly not uncommon for pop punk bands, so on this part they present absolutely nothing new, but at least the lyrics are sung in a dual vocal style that has great potency and comes across as honest and sincere with good dynamics.

The opening track "Cold Bones" introduces the gruff vocal style, somewhat similar to that of The Menzingers and the cool, full-bodied approach also alludes to the folk-punk movement, especially in songs like "Lantern Park", an acoustic song which is definitely one of the more memorable tracks on this debut. "Graphic Novels" is more "emo" punkish that reminds you both of The Used and Taking Back Sunday. "I Wish The World Would End (January 10)" is a lot more jampacked with rough vocal styles, while "King Of The Ring '98" is more radio friendly and straightforward. "Threat Level Midnight" allows for a suspenseful slow build up that adds some complexity to the record's otherwise minimal approach. Album closer "Willoughby" is an anthemic finisher to a an album that I consider to be a commendable effort, the only real problem remains that some songs are simply more catchy than others and for this reason, suffer a bit from inconsistency. I can definitely see this record becoming a grower for some fans of the style, it will be interesting to see how the band fare with their sophomore record where I would urge to allow more instrumental passages to make the songs more interesting, some experimentation is never a bad thing.

Bad Luck are not the happy-go-lucky and bouncy pop-punk outfit that I often associate with the genre, there is a sense of seriousness to the music and this reflects well in the honest compositions found on "Cold Bones", and for this reason this debut album seems more relevant.

Download: Cold Bones, Lantern Park, King Of The Ring 98'
For The Fans Of: I Am The Avalanche, Maker
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 16.10.2014
Lifeforce Records