ALBUM REVIEW: 134 – Come Clean
From Greensboro, North Carolina we would like to introduce COME CLEAN and their self-recorded debut album, 134. To describe their album in their own words, it’s “a melting pot of old and new school pop-punk influences” mastered by Grant Berry (BOSTON MANOR, STAND ATLANTIC). That sounds promising, but is this a breath of fresh air or just another copycat from within the pop-punk scene? In the case of COME CLEAN, it’s obviously option one.
On first listen, opening track Slow On The Exhale does throw you off with its clunky rhythm, yet it works. Mostly. Admittedly it’s a little strange for a track that has the production of a lo-fi pop-punk song to include segments that don’t follow any sort of pattern, although it does add a quirky charm to it. After this moment though, everything sticks to a formula of nostalgia that any pop-punk fan will enjoy.
Throughout the record listeners will be easily reminded of other bands within the same scene but this is done in a way where it feels more like a nod to them as opposed to entering copycat territory. Fortunate is fast-paced and brings to mind the opening notes of ALKALINE TRIO’s Be My Escape and is an overall fun song with a fantastic drum and bass breakdown. The title-track and Outerspace feel like a homage to both BLINK-182 and early FALL OUT BOY; So Foolish feels like a collaboration between ALKALINE TRIO and THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS, in other words it feels very inspired by the mid-2000s scene, and as such it has you ready to jump and sing along; and Losing Value seems to draw heavy influence from NECK DEEP’s Can’t Kick Up The Roots.
That’s not to say that COME CLEAN only offer one style; elsewhere the band experiment with grunge during And The Walls Became The World All Around and Art Class, and we even see them let their guard down in Beautiful Blue, an acoustic track that, in short, is so sweet to listen to as it feels so genuine and heartfelt. Concluding track Overworking sees a return to the clunky rhythm as heard in the first song, but once again it works, and the very end sounds like a build-up to something taking off. Perhaps a take-off to COME CLEAN’s long career within the music community?
As said, this record is nostalgic yet it still feels unique, like the band genuinely love the scene that influenced the record and took the time to perfect their craft, whilst also taking the time to work with other styles. It’s a strong introduction to COME CLEAN and we look forward to hearing more.
Rating: 8/10
134 is set for release on April 14th via self-release.
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