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Deviates

Holding Out

Written by: PP on 28/12/2021 13:30:52

Punk rock legends Deviates were active during the late 90s, having released "My Life" in 1998 and "Time Is The Distance" in 2001 before breaking up in 2004. Some older readers may even remember a song or two from Epitaph's Punk-O-Rama series, but otherwise, they've been disconnected from the music scene for the past twenty years. "Holding Out" is their third record overall, consisting of a combination of recently written tracks and a couple of older ones written after "Time Is Distance" for a new album that never materialized until now.

Stylistically, Deviates upholds the classic Southern California skate punk sound: tight, almost metallic guitars, aggressively lined clean vocals, and huge chant-alongs designed to effortlessly fill Groezrock's main stage tent with community sing-along. "Holding Out" sounds exactly as Deviates did back then, so not much has changed there. If you're into albums by The Offspring around "Smash" and "Ixnay On The Hombre" years or material by Ignite or Good Riddance, you'll feel right at home here.

Brian Barbara's fiery vocals come into their own on "Wasted", where his wide brawl effectively sounds like a woo-hoo gang chant throughout the song. Speaking of which, "On My Own" is the standout track here with mass sing-along potential during its heeeeeyyy-ooohhh, I'll never make it on my own" parts. Exactly as you remember it from the 90s style SoCal punk releases.

At just seven tracks and under twenty minutes, though, you can make the case for "Holding Out" being a lazy release after a twenty-year break. All seven tracks are quality skate punk, but would four or five extra ones have been too much to ask? For now, the album is a welcome return from the seminal band, but I think we can all agree we'll need much more before they will return to the heights of their glory days around the Warped Tour years.

Download: On My Own, From The Crowd, 40 Days And 40 Nights
For the fans of: (old) The Offspring, Ignite, Good Riddance, 1208, Smoke Or Fire, Pennywise
Listen: Facebook

Release date 17.09.2021
Self-Released