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Timeshares

Already Dead

Written by: PP on 16/07/2015 20:32:34

It has been four years since Timeshares released their underrated debut album "Bearable" and became annual FEST favorites at the Gainesville gathering of bearded Orgcore punks, as their style of reverb-infused melodic punk has come to be defined over the years. On their sophomore album "Already Dead" the band change their expression somewhat, calming it down from the explosive, Bear Vs Shark meets Hot Water Music ideals of their debut and polishing the production away from basement punk levels. The end product offers an overall more ambitious interpretation on the genre, which resembles the evolution taken by Chicago punks Downtown Struts from "Victoria!" to their next EP "Hope You're Dope". Here, raw edges were replaced by a more indie-flavored approach to working class punk, echoing ideals from The Gaslight Anthem.

Timeshares do much of the same on "Already Dead", which should expand their fan base considerably. Older fans need not be frightened by that description, though. They balance a cleaner sound against aggressive undertones from basement style punk, recalling the underground cult classic "Marriage" by Attack In Black in the process. Especially opener "State Line To State Line" is drenched in this type of emotional, gravelly delivery versus cleanly produced guitars, which nonetheless are wallowing in melodic reverb at the same time. Straight after, "Tail Light" resembles their older material with its explosive gravelly vocals that appear influenced by Bear Vs Shark as much as they are by Hot Water Music. This is more of a traditional FEST-type basement punk song with plenty of catchy melodies softening a punk-fueled blast. Next up, "The Bad Parts" takes us to the aforementioned Americana world of Downtown Struts with its clean guitars and upbeat vocal lines, but it is the album highlight "Same Day, Different Week" that takes the prize home as the best song of the record. Here, the guitar riffs are more expansive than on past Timeshares material, and the vocal melody is rather quirky with unusual rhythmic changes in its delivery.

The remainder of the album basically revolves around these styles. Some tracks are more aligned to basement punk sing-alongs, whereas others follow the same path as the magnificent Attack In Black as mentioned earlier. However, Timeshares fail to achieve similar resonance as they do, often coming across as a dreamy version that merely rolls along without a real purpose as such. The songs are decent, but not particularly memorable in the long run, but still worthy of checking out if bands like Iron Chic, Latterman, Downtown Struts and the others mentioned in this review are up your alley.

Download: Same Day Different Week, The Bad Parts, State Line To State Line,
For the fans of: Attack In Black, Downtown Struts, Iron Chic, Latterman
Listen: Facebook

Release date 28.05.2015
SideOneDummy Records