Source: Album Artwork
In the music business they say timing is everything and the timing couldn’t be more perfect for Canadian punks Like Pacific to release new album Distant Like You Asked. The band are currently on a huge tour across their home nation and the U.S as openers to State Champs, Neck Deep and Knuckle Puck. That truly is the right time and place to get your material to the perfect crowd. Also may we say here that this album is an absolute blinder!
Exploding out of the gates with ‘Richmond’ the band pull no punches with their opener. It sounds huge, it is a hell of a catchy tune and by God vocalist Jordan Black has a terrific voice. If he can sing like this live his tour mates should be a little worried about being upstaged. ‘Distant’ may not be as in your face but doesn’t hinder the power the band pack into the song. It has hooks, dynamics and doesn’t fall into that trap of getting too forced or cheesy as can easily happen in the pop-punk genre.
As the album progresses you realise that this may be pop-punk but this is really pissed off pop-punk and it works, it works really well. ’22a’ starts slow but grows until the song spits through your speakers and once again what a chorus. There is no denying that this band know how to write a song.
Let’s talk about the musicianship here for a moment, sure we mentioned the strength of the vocals earlier but that is not to say they are the only strong part of Like Pacific. With pop-punk there has always been that ongoing joke of only needing three chords and whilst true it takes away from the actual skill it takes to structure a song and to stand out in a genre of thousands. Like Pacific don’t stick to that three chord structure. They show ambition and it works. Sure there are tracks that stick into that classic pop-punk sound but throughout they show there is so much more to them and their abilities as a musical unit.
Penultimate track ‘Dim’ is another blinder and makes you realise that there are no real week spots on this album, already we are nine tracks into the ten you get here and you haven’t got bored. There is some sweet guitar lines and a killer rhythm section and it is another solid outing before ‘Scarred’ sees the listener off in fine style in a perfectly pissed off manner.
So just when you think pop-punk has shown you everything it is going to Like Pacific have released this blinder of an album to show there is still life in the genre yet and it is pretty pissed off. If Like Pacific don’t explode off the back of this record then there is no justice in the world. A highly enjoyable listen from beginning to end. Hats off to you gents. You have delivered and set the bar high for your genre.
