Note to bands; wearing a Punktastic t-shirt during a photoshoot and having the resultant pics in your album sleeve is fucking cool and will gain you points. As a result, Uncle Brian drummer John gains kudos for doing exactly that. It’s a very glossy sleeve at that, lots of pictures showing drunken debauchery, which sums up the new record as one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a good job, because UB have had their fair share of turmoil since they started. Band members have come and gone as the band is now a three-piece, guitarist Ben taking up vocal duties on his own.
The result is a fun record that certainly doesn’t break the mould, or stand out from the pack, but it is crammed full of singalong hooks. Take the crunchy yet catchy ‘Sorry’ or ‘Wake Up’. Consider these are the first two songs and you may think you’re onto a winner. Sadly that’s not the case, as over the course of 11 tracks the album doesn’t manage to last the distance. It is simple pop-punk, but at times it’s horribly generic and unfortunately for every good song there’s a bad one. And while ‘A New England’ probably sounded like a good idea at the time, committed to CD it’s one of the worst covers I have ever come across. Sorry guys. Still, songs like ‘Willow’ and ‘Nevermind Today’ are fun enough to have you singing along like it’s gone out of fashion.
Uncle Brian aren’t likely to move out of the toilet circuit any time soon, but that doesn’t make ‘All The Gear But No Idea’ a bad album. Take it for what it is, a fun record that has no-frills, and you’ll enjoy it. It’s the punk rock equivalent of Jordan – there’s not much depth but plenty of perks…
www.uncle-brian.com
Golf Records
Paul