Searching through the piles of cds that get delivered to Punktastic is a pretty arduous task. With a myriad of unheard of bands sending us their stuff, you’re bound to come up with the odd stinker. But by the same token you sometimes come across an absolute gem and ‘The Importance Of Emo’ is one of those.
You would be mistaken for thinking that Appease are Americans. They have an unmistakable US sounding vocalist, and a pop/emo sound that is pleasant on the ear, reminiscent of a poor man’s Ataris. So you might say I was a little surprised to hear this lot resided in Bolton, England. And this record is certainly a far cry from the damp, grey days and the horrifying sounds of indie that the town has become well known for.
‘The Importance Of Emo’ kicks off with opening track ‘1000 Miles’ and it is a likeable enough chunk of pop punk, tugging away at the heart strings without ever yanking hard enough. Or something… ahem. Anyway, ‘Thanx For Nothing’ follows up in similar style, with some cool melodies and nice guitar lines. It’s nothing that hasn’t been seen before, but it’s good nevertheless.
‘Johnny No Stars’ sounds like a [spunge] song, although which song I’m not sure because the name currently escapes me. Still, it’s only a portion, and it’s a pretty good portion, so we shall say no more. With lyrics straight from the boy-meets-girl, boy-falls-in-love-with-girl, girl-breaks-boys-heart school of writing, it’s pretty obvious stuff. But Appease do everything well; it’s not flashy, just good solid music. ‘Anthem For A Loser’ has a bit of a lame title, but the tune makes up for this as it’s a bit of a perky number, and the lead guitar fills are particularly well thought out.
‘Song Five’ has an even lamer title, but again it makes up for this little misdemeanour with a good song. With some crashing drums and full throttle guitars, the fast/slow dynamics work well. And the backing vocals add a much needed layer to proceedings. ‘Apologies’ has a definite Ataris ring to it, which is no bad thing at all. But it doesn’t veer into rip-off territory, instead keeping its own identity. And it’s not a bad tune either.
‘Everything To Me’ starts off like every other track, and this is possibly Appease‘s only crime. But the dynamics work well again when the track gets going, with a hint of the likes of Strung Out and Whippersnapper thrown in for good measure. ‘November 11th’ sounds so much like ‘Giving Up On Love’ by The Ataris it hurts. The intro is almost identical, but that is where the comparisons thankfully end, as the song takes on a completely new direction after the first twenty seconds or so. Penultimate track ‘Stand Alone’ is also a decent chunk of pop punk, with a vocal line that will burrow into your brain and have you humming along in no time. And just to prove this lot can vary their style, ‘Untitled’ throws up some ska beats as a curveball, adding a cool bit of variety to proceedings for 50 seconds as they thank us for buying and listening. Inventive but not necessary.
I’ve made way too many comparisons to pop-punk bands, but Appease clearly have the talent to go a long way. They naturally sound like a US band, and this will stand them in good stead, as the kids seem to lap up anything that comes straight outta So-Cal. With a little more improvements, we could be seeing quite a bit more of this Lancashire lot.