Label: Hopeless Records
Released:
Rating: ★★★★★
Hotly anticipated, the second album from Australia’s Stand Atlantic doesn’t disappoint. Energetic, conscientious, packed with hooks; if pop-punk has a future, this is what it sounds like.
The opening salvo of songs burst out of the bottle like a shook up soda, distorted guitar adorning propulsive pop rhythms. The genre can too often fall into a hackneyed parody of itself, but Stand Atlantic are better than that. The band’s hunger is infectious and it’s what makes these songs pop off the record in spite of their somewhat choreographed arrangements. ‘Drink to Drown’ is a sobering piano ballad sitting in the midst of the chaos showcasing Bonnie Fraser’s vocals and the quartet’s knack for a tune.
Armed with a modern take on a tired genre and a firebrand frontperson, the sky’s the limit.
