It feels like we’ve been on a new band reviewing tip recently here at Punktastic, with literally every other release coming from a young band looking to find their feet. Sullivan are no different, a four-piece releasing their first ‘proper’ CD, this time on Riot Records. The band play a brash form of poppy punk that comes across like 4ft Fingers messing with Blink 182, albeit far sloppier than either of their peers. While Sullivan aren’t an awful band, this record really doesn’t do much for them. The borrowed and re-hashed riffs smack of unoriginality, while the drums often seem too fast for their own good, making everything appear to be out of time. I guess this is something that you learn with experience so I won’t be too harsh, but it’s a little unprofessional and sloppy – which you wouldn’t expect from looking at the cover and art.
Sadly the songs aren’t that hot either. Opener ‘Sad and Sober’ uses the riff from Blink 182‘s ‘Man Overboard’, while the intro riff to ‘One Perfect Day’ sounds like The La’s (remember them?), while the lead guitar also sounds very familiar. The vocals sound ok without ever being that great, and while the drums are often fast and inventive they go out of time all too often and sometimes the speed sounds a little out of place. ‘Punk Foot’ isn’t that bad, it at least sounds quite British, but there isn’t enough power to make the guitars sound as they probably should do – but that’s more a production fault than anything else.
For youngsters Sullivan are on the right path, but a lot more work needs to go into the recording process to iron out some elementary mistakes. Finding their own sound and niche and coming up with their ideas would be a good start too. The school report card would give a grade C and the oft-used phrase of ‘must try harder’…
www.sullivanrock.com
Riot Records
Paul