I’m trying to stay as objective and as constructive I can in reviewing this, but after much deliberation I’m still coming to the same conclusion; I think this was the best UK release of last year, if not ever. “THE WHATJACKS?!†I hear you cry, yes; although an extraordinarily good album, for some reason it seemed to slip by everyone and go virtually un-noticed. A crying shame indeed, and if I lift the words of a good friend of mine; if this record were to land on the lap of the right A&R guy on the right day, it’s radio friendliness and pop sensibilities could indeed spawn a handful of chart bothering hits.
Although the terms; ‘radio friendliness’ and ‘pop sensibilities’ do conjure up the imagery of a predictable, no thrills pop punk record, Batteries Not Included is worth so much more than that. Imagine clever guitar riffs weaving in and out of each other whilst the bass lines, although modest, cut through just in the right places. Under this there lies powerful, solid drums holding everything together musically, whilst on top of that you have the vocals (which suit perfectly; i.e. not too whiny and pretentious, yet not too gruff and raw) singing melodies that are instantly memorable and stay lodged in your head for days on end. That to me describes a nigh on perfect track, but an albums worth of tracks that good is a real rarity, but that’s what this album is. Seriously, I’ve owned this CD since the summer and I still don’t skip any tracks on it.
The opening track; ‘For those who believe’ sets the pace impeccably; its twiddley guitar motifs gives way for the massive chorus seamlessly. And this is true of every track, and although a simple formula can get boring across a full length L.P. THE BOMBJACKS pull it off with more ease than a drug dealer. The second track; “All New Low†would be in itself a great three minute single. If it was BUSTED releasing it, I’m sure it’d be top 20. To say there was a weak track on here would be a bold statement, “If looks could kill†takes things into a 6/8 50’s style pop number, it at times feels a bit lengthy but they just about get away with it. Things come right back on track though with songs like; “Dreaded game†which is a revamped BJ classic as is “Meteorites†which also sees a more than welcomed inclusion. “Cut loose†is a real wow moment, how anyone can sing the words “Don’t worry coz it’s alright†in such an addictive manner is beyond me, hell, even my girlfriend sings along to it! To finish proceedings, the epic “End of the road†wraps things up nicely with a dainty piano riff fading out to end.
This album however is not revolutionary like CAPDOWN‘s first album; it will not spawn as many copy-cat bands as say something like a FFAF release. It doesn’t bombard you with deep socio/political undertones like PROPAGHANDI and it doesn’t try and compromise itself by being over adventurous and pretentious. I don’t believe it was ever meant to do any of these things either. On its own merits; a straight forward quality power-pop-punk album, some amazing musicianship and some equally as good sing-a-long choruses; you’ll be really hard pushed to find much better.
Mike