Tenement

Bruised Music Volume One

Written by: PP on 17/03/2015 00:13:40

"Are you ready to hear the best pop punk record ever created by Jesus?", a sample asks before Tenement kicks off their compilation album "Bruised Music Volume One", a collection of songs from several tapes, EPs and splits between 2006 and 2009. If like me all you've heard of the band is their excellent album "Napalm Dream" from four years ago, which was basically a pop punk version of Descendents combined with the sheer joy of playing music that radiates out of Superchunk records, then you're in for a slight surprise over how dark and Bad Religion influenced their older music was like.

Throughout the record we hear raw, old school tinged punk rock that recalls "Suffer"-era Bad Religion in terms of guitars with a definite nod towards Descendents style skate punk, whereas the vocals are more akin to something you'll find on a Swingin' Utters album. The highlights like "The Fire Is Out" and "Summer Streets Parts 1 & 2" are truly excellent, showcasing the highly energetic, but also positively charged aura that Tenement displays when playing live, where every note and chord is passionately played and made sure to vibrate in your mind for a long while after you're done listening to the record. Something like "The Best And Worst Of Times" is just so upbeat and optimistic in its soundscape it's difficult to deny, here underlining their more melodic side we also heard on "Napalm Dream". This song could've been on a Superchunk or a Joyce Manor record easily giving it's melodically ringing, reverb-driven guitars.

Still, given the compilation nature of the album, the quality of song varies quite significantly from the more anonymous tracks to the quality songs that make Tenement worth following and checking out especially live. Those on the second half of the record are arguably catchier than on the first half, but it's still mostly a fan release and probably not suitable as the starting point to the band. Some great songs, some average ones, and everything in between. That's basically "Bruised Music Volume One" in a nutshell.

Download: The Fire Is Out, Summer Streets Parts 1 & 2, The Best And Worst Of Times, Goodnight Rosendale
For the fans of: Swingin' Utters, Bad Religion, Descendents, Superchunk, The Replacements
Listen: Facebook

Release date 10.03.2015
Grave Mistake Records

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