Album Review: Redundant

Auckland’s punk rock scene continues to thrive. Just check out the line-up of gigs happening at live venues throughout the country. Even hardcore groups from yester-decade sold out venues just last month. Now look at what the past members of The Rabble, False Start and Broken Avenue have gotten up to recently – hard at work crafting punky new material for a second album as Flirting With Disaster.

So how does this one stack up? Does it pack some angst, does it move people and does it carry a message? This sophomore album already comes packed with the hit singles Catastrophizing, Come Undone and Cynical, so it’s a massively promising start for me.

The first song is a thirty-second speedy ditty with the words “Looking at life through a camera lens, tell me if it’s real or not? It’s pretty f*cked up that we all pretend”. Yes sir, it’s definitely post-recession era and the band are not fans of selfies – We’re on the right track.

No, White Noise isn’t a cover of The Living End; it’s apparently one expressing his distaste for the current state of modern music set to an anthemic sing-along chorus. Once again, yep, the message is clear here, and one I personally can appreciate.

Majority of songs are no longer than two and a half minutes, but there are plenty of party-worthy, crowd-pleaser tunes like Baggage or We’ll Carry On, which brim with youthful energy, tunes that remind you of those backyard barbecues that turn into late-night rowdy get-togethers.

For fans of the speedier, thrashier skate punk songs, there’s Lies, It’s Alright, Come Undone, Bleeding Out and more. Also, for a song about not wanting to do anything productive, I Don’t Wanna Get Up is extremely upbeat.

Of course, what makes punk music appealing to so many is the realisation that one doesn’t fit in with the status quo. In true punk rock form, Flirting With Disaster created the song Fuck the Law, illustrating one’s distaste to adhering to social norms. I mean, the title alone is something of a give-away.

But, among all this punk cacophony, is there any variety on the album? You bet. There’s the bluesy acoustic song Deadwood. A bit country, a bit shoulder-to-shoulder-at-a-pub. Your parents may not have been fans of The Rabble, but this one is guaranteed to get their toes tapping. Kids, DO try this at home.

One that particularly caught my ear is the last track on the album, the darker-sounding Rescue Remedy, featuring minor key song-writing, which is almost not heard on the album. The song is then split into two acts, with the latter entering at the two-and-half minute mark, trading back in the usual Flirting With Disaster sound to conclude the album.

What people expect of punk rock and pop punk are all on this album. The key elements of catchy melodies, personal themes, singalong choruses and speedy passages are all ticked – Oh, and the bonus of an acoustic song thrown in.

Pop-punk is far from dead and Flirting With Disaster illustrates my point well. This is high-octane punk rock with some of the best hooks this side of the globe. To the modern-day punk bands, listen and take note: This here is your master-class.