ALBUM REVIEW: Watling Street Chambers – Kicked In The Teeth

UK punk outfit, KICKED IN THE TEETH, have put out their newest record, Watling Street Chambers. The Northwich quartet have been building up their reputation with their sound, influenced by the likes of BAD RELIGION and BLACK FLAG, with combines both the heavy and melodic sides of punk and hardcore, resulting in endless live shows and even a split cassette with fellow rising punks THE QUEERS. With all that stated, it would be fair to have high expectations for this album in that we’re about to experience something loud and exciting, but instead things fall flat with a record that feels unoriginal thanks to a singular comparison one can make that, once noticed, plagues KICKED IN THE TEETH throughout.

At first, when the album opens with Savour The Victory, you think you’re in for something that’s heavily inspired by 90s punk-rock with its fast riffs and bouncy beats that puts you in the mood for summertime. It’s something you also think of during later track, Death Of Me, where you’re again feeling positive and loving this whole escapism vibe where you escape reality and just have some fun.

Yet that positivity leaves when you start to pinpoint something. It begins when the 90s nostalgia hits as a catalogue of bands from this time era comes to mind, you reach that part of the list where GREEN DAY is mentioned, particularly their album Insomniac. Then you start to notice that one track sounds similar to their song Jaded, and then you notice every track, except for two that we’ll go into, has an incredibly similar composition and layout to that song, albeit softer in style.

Now, this could be a coincidence, and likely someone could listen and not hear that comparison, arguing that most punk follows that style and composition, and that’s fair enough, yet it doesn’t take away from the fact that almost every song sounds the exact same. It sounds nice, sure, but it makes the whole experience a frustrating listen.

What’s even more frustrating is the two songs that don’t fall into that criticism are both much better for it, and it makes you want to tear your hair out at the fact that we could have had more of this instead the same repetitive songs we’d heard up to this point. These are the title track, a fun and bouncy punk track, and closing track Werewolves which experiments with some blues-rock elements yet overall remains true to that punk vibe of being loud, fast, and vibrant, with both being compared to early songs released by THE WONDER YEARS.

You can hear the potential, you can hear what they were going for, yet you want to shake them by the end and scream at them for not creating more songs like Werewolves. A frustrating waste of talent and time.

Rating: 4/10

Watling Street Chambers is set for release May 9th via Rare Vitamin Records.

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