From a band called Mr Happy Chainsaw I wanted buzzing guitars, a barbaric pace, unending fury and something a little bit left of centre. What ‘We Appear To Be On Fire’ delivers is anything but. In a nutshell it’s watered down, poorly recorded pop-punk. It badly wants to be Alkaline Trio (the band name is just one indicator of that) but falls a long way short of that particular marker.
This E.P. is the fourth release from the Essex band, and marks the first recording with the current line-up. Previously described by Punktastic as skater punk, I’m not sure Mr Happy Chainsaw fits that particular bracket anymore. Maybe on ‘Person’ but the majority of this release proves to be slower than what you’d expect of skater-punk. Instead it comes across as a bit of a smudged record, not really marking itself out as one thing or another.
A lack of identity isn’t helped by a production that lets the recording down either. I know self-financed releases need to be cheap but the guitars here are too quiet, often lost completely. The same is true of the drums. The vocals are the only element that seems high enough in the mix, but there’s a real hit-or-miss quality to these as well. One minute they sound solid enough, the next they fail to match the music. Lyrically everything’s a little insipid. The problem with trying to be like Alkaline Trio is that you’re likely not going to be able to recreate the sardonic, tongue-in-cheek, melancholy and wit that epitomises those lyrics.
In a review of the self-titled last release it was suggested that the band was “still some way from the levels I’d expect a band should have progressed to.” On this recording I don’t think that progress has been made. Maybe the change in personnel has meant the band has taken a slight step back and some ground needs to be retread, but at the end of the day, taking ‘We Appear To Be On Fire’ on it’s own merits means there’s not much to write home about. Mr Happy Chainsaw, you’ve got so far to go.
Alex P D Hambleton