Civil War Rust

Help Wanted

Written by: PP on 12/11/2016 12:28:23

The sophomore album "Help Wanted" by Bay Area no frills pop punkers Civil War Rust improves in terms of production value from their 2013 debut album "The Fun & The Lovely", adding a fair amount of cleansing polish to the instruments and the vocals, but still delivers an altogether enjoyable twenty-four minutes of upbeat pop punk, Fat Wreck Chords style.

Armed with two vocalists, the band shift between the positively-charged, wide open pop punk of The Loved Ones, and the tight no-frills variety of Banner Pilot. The former is in the driving role with their charismatic lead vocalist drawing plenty of parallels to the high-energy, strained delivery of Dave Hause, which lends itself perfectly for summertime pop punk anthems that are as fun and easygoing as they are infectiously catchy. However, the latter style shouldn't be underestimated either. Though primarily shoved into a backing role, the beer-fueled, rougher roars are what give the record its needed edge to separate itself from standard fare pop punk acts.

Songs like "Thirty Days" are thus purposefully rough around the edges much like Banner Pilot records, yet maintain the infectiously catchy choruses thanks to the lead vocals taking over at right moments. Another good example is the ripping "Bart Cards And Broken Hearts", which explodes out the gate with the rougher, strained vocal style before cleaning up its act later on. It's the contrast between the clean and the dirty that makes the record work so well.

So while "Help Wanted" isn't all that different from the legion of other solid no frills pop punk releases in recent years, it's still a noteworthy release given its high-energy release and knack for writing brilliant choruses. Expect to see this band a lot more in coming years on a similar path as Banner Pilot if they continue to churn solid releases like this one and the debut.

Download: Outta My Mind, Thirty Days, Bart Cards And Broken Hearts, California Bleu
For the fans of: The Loved Ones, Banner Pilot, The Lawrence Arms
Listen: Facebook

Release date 20.11.2015
Def Cow Records / Say-10 Records

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