Guess who has been listening to ‘Insomniac’ way too much? Not only does the cover art for ‘Rocks’ look almost identical in style, but Sanbox are so heavily influenced by Green Day that the guitars, both in sound and tone, are very, very similar. Then throw in some Screeching Weasel/Queers style vocals and you’ve pretty much got this New Jersey threesome wrapped up. And whilst this trio might not be the most original band you’ll ever hear (although they do escape the post-hardcore sound of the likes of Thursday that seems to have over-run the NJ scene) they certainly make up for it in energy and an overall sense of fun, even if some of their songs aren’t quite up to scratch.
‘Rocks’ is an energetic 30-minute blast that does cover a lot of ground that has already sold millions and millions of records. Still, it worked for Green Day so there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work again. And to be fair the songs are of a reasonable quality, and whilst there are no ’86’s or ‘Geek Stink Breath’s on offer, there are a number of tracks that sit up and warrant a further listen. By the same token there is also the odd stinker…
Opener ‘Whose Fault’ is a stormer, whilst the ‘Hitchin A Ride’-esque intro to ‘Alice Jeanne (Firedaddy’s Theme Song)’ is also a decent effort. The rough and ready production really suits the Screeching Weasel inspired ‘I Love You’, whilst the brooding ‘Sometimes’ sounds a little familiar. ‘This Girl’ (not a homage to the fantastic UK post-hardcore crew unfortunately) is another fine slice of early 90’s style punk, with the vocals sounding slightly like those of Bracket. ‘So Long’ again sounds like Green Day, just without Billie Joe’s snarling larynx, whilst ‘What’ also borrows from the Berkeley trio. Still, I kinda like it anyway…
But the reasonably good work is undone with a few bad songs. ’97’ features some dodgy backing vocals which spoil the track, which it has to be said is one of the worst tracks anyway. ‘Now Those Days’ is as bad, before ‘The Ice Cream’ kicks in. Not only does it have a piss-poor title but it’s as generic as you could possibly get – a boring repetitive riff and some silly lyrics – and all the good work the first nine songs did is rapidly coming undone. ‘Fun All Night’ perks things up without setting the world alight and the album closer, the acoustic ‘The Ballad Of Katrina’ is again ok. Unfortunately an unspectacular end to an album that really is the cliched game of two halves.
Sanbox are a good, solid little band that certainly warrant checking out. However the similarities to Green Day, are for me, a little too close for comfort and there are posibly three or four songs too many. Still, this release is sure to ‘rock’ your socks off….ahem….
Paul