ALBUM REVIEW: All Out Of Dreams – Bokassa

With only three people in their line-up, Norway’s BOKASSA have a certain purity. Their groove-heavy, hardcore-influenced rock ‘n’ roll is stripped back, raw and thoroughly uncomplicated. They write punchy, attitude-laden songs that are equal parts swagger and humour, and they’re very easy to like. They once famously had Lars Ulrich singing their praises and even got to tour with METALLICA, so they’re clearly doing something right.

On All Out Of Dreams, their fourth full-length, BOKASSA continue to be awesome. However, there’s also a touch of darkness creeping into their work. Musically, it’s still vibrant and life-affirming. If you don’t pay any attention to the lyrics, it’s a great big party that’s been condensed into 30 minutes but look closer and it starts to look more cynical. If the record’s title and artwork don’t give it away, All Out Of Dreams is shot through with pessimism.

This does give it a slightly unusual vibe, but even in the grimmer moments, All Out Of Dreams is a delight. It’s a rump-shaking, rum-guzzling night out in the rock clubs of Norway, and even a satirical look at the January 6th insurrection can’t put a downer on it. The planet’s temperature is increasing, the poor are getting poorer and we’re all being manipulated by Internet outrage-merchants, but BOKASSA are going to have some fun as we accelerate towards the end.

Over the course of half an hour, they also wring quite a lot of variety out of their sonic template. BOKASSA’s fusion of stoner rock with punk energy is surprisingly versatile and they play with light and shade beautifully. The song tempos and choruses are varied enough to make each a distinctive entity, and there’s some absolute barnstormers crammed in here. For example, Garden Of Heathen is a mix of melodic riffs and NYHC stomp, with a welcome appearance from no less than Lou Koller of SICK OF IT ALL. No More Good Days is a California punk song with zero budget and no singing lessons, and there’s a more traditional stoner track in the closing Crush (All Heretics). This one is slow, down tuned and so groovy, it’ll make you want to spell the word ‘groovy’ with extra o’s.

There’s also plenty of humour despite the generally bleak outlook. BOKASSA hail from the CLUTCH school of songwriting and have a knack for writing cutting lines. This gives the likes of Straight Edgelord and Bradford Death Squadron a slight tongue-in-cheek air, not to mention tons of swagger. BOKASSA are not a comedy band by any means, but they can raise a smile even in the darkest moments.

So even with their frustrations about modern life boiling over, BOKASSA can be relied upon to raise hell. All Out Of Dreams is 30 minutes of anthemic, punked up metallic fun made with guitar, bass, drums and whiskey-soaked vocal cords and nothing else. Lars Ulrich was right about these guys.

Rating: 8/10

All Out Of Dreams is set for release on February 16th via Indie Recordings.

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