ALBUM REVIEW: So Far, So Good – Out Of Love
If you were to whack on a tape cassette found in a time capsule from 2015, you’d likely find yourself listening to the likes of BRAWLERS, LOWER THAN ATLANTIS, MILK TEETH, PUP and the grunge-punk movement. And you’d be forgiven for thinking OUT OF LOVE could shuffle somewhere in the mix, despite their new compilation album So Far, So Good coming seven years too late.
In a world where being punk means you’re either fighting toe-to-toe with the establishment (post-punk) or collaborating with BLINK-182’s Travis Barker (pop-punk), the glory days of the grunge punk scene are long gone. Londoners OUT OF LOVE dropping So Far, So Good is like saying happy birthday to someone at a funeral; you’re the black sheep of the family from the outset.
Thankfully, So Far, So Good packs more bangers than ‘big Tesco’, offering up an album that’s as best of both worlds as a loaf of bread. OUT OF LOVE wear their influences like hearts on their sleeves, pick-and-mixing the finer things from them all and tinkering till they’re fine-tuned. I Am Not Me’s chaotic gang chorus of “I think I’ve lost my mind” is a dizzying revolving door ride that worms its way into your eardrums for the foreseeable a la Vile Child-era MILK TEETH; Hello Trouble’s melodic grit hits like bricks, as if BRAWLERS‘ power-pop went for a punch-up with Changing Tune–era LOWER THAN ATLANTIS’ chart-invading alt-rock; and Bedbound beefs up the rough-around-the-edges emo-punk PUP were still perfecting pre-Morbid Stuff.
One of the things their predecessors got caught up in was getting over-indulgent like Augustus Gloop in a chocolate factory. The bigger and bolder the bands got, so did the ideas, often spiralling out of control. OUT OF LOVE do away with all the theatrics, so there’s not a single track that outstays its welcome on So Far, So Good. At first, you’ll think 13 tracks in 31 minutes is a little like overstuffing the turkey, yet there’s no filler to be found here. And there’s always something slightly different to sing along with, scream at, or shake your ass to. One minute you’re whipping your head back and forth, next you’re air-guitaring your way through power riffs like you’re playing Guitar Hero, and then you’re mosh-pitting into oblivion.
OUT OF LOVE may specialise in serving up solid gold sing-alongs, but dig a little deeper below the surface of So Far, So Good and you’ll find a charming vulnerability to the band. Whether they’re navigating the trials and tribulations of growing up in the modern age, or battling the minefields and brain fog that mental health brings, they do so with a tongue-in-cheek sincerity that really hits you after several sessions of the album.
They truly nail it when their lyrics match up with the chaos they’re creating musically. Closer Kill Song explodes out of the gate with the kind of grunge-punk, power-pop mash-up that gets festival crowds fired up, but it’s when you feel your fist punching the sky as the band chant “Quit your job, set the house on fire / Crash your car it don’t matter / The world’s so fucked and so am I / You don’t need shit like you think you do” that you realise they’ve bottled up audible catharsis.
So Far, So Good might sound like a greatest hits of the grunge-punk glory days, but OUT OF LOVE stuff it with so many bangers they might as well be crowned the kings of its revival.
Sometimes, when the world’s falling to pieces all around you, all you need is a record that lets you rock out all your frustrations; So Far, So Good is that record.
Rating: 9/10
So Far, So Good is set for release on April 8th via Venn Records.
Like OUT OF LOVE on Facebook.