Source: Album Artwork
American punk rockers SWMRS (formerly known as Emily’s Army), have set the bar high with the release of their debut album Drive North. They released it in the UK on February 12th via the bands own label, Uncool Records. FIDLAR frontman Zac Carper produced this album, making it the first not produced by drummer Joey Armstrong’s dad and Green Day frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong. The album is littered with musical influences ranging from the Ramones to the Beach Boys and unmistakably, Green Day. In the midst of this audacious experimentation with genre and sound, they haven’t forgotten to include some ridiculously catchy, raw and gutsy old school punk rock songs saturated with teenage angst. Things look promising for SWMRS, they’ve just completed a US tour with Wavves and Twin Peaks and released an album which pushes the boundaries of punk music.
Undoubtedly, the strongest and most infectious punk rock tracks on the album are ‘Harry Dean’, ‘Brb’ and ‘Drive North’. ‘Harry Dean’ is a strong opening track, it starts with a brash catchy guitar riff accompanied by the potent fast paced drumming of Joey Armstrong. The vocals are unique, confident and full of raw emotion. ‘Brb’ begins with a drawn out pounding guitar riff which builds before launching you into a dynamic and gutsy punk rock song, undeniably reminiscent of Green Day. The thick pulsating bass line is complimented and empowered by the continuously tight and up beat drumming of Armstrong. The chorus of this song is addictive. The bass line, guitar riff and drums build, reverberate and then erupt into a dynamic chorus jam packed full of punk angst and energy.
The title track ‘Drive North’ is a quintessential punk rock song. The first few seconds of the track are strangely evocative of Blink-182. Vocalist Cole Becker’s screams of hatred towards “Santa Monica Boulevard” and “Venice Beach” are fitting with the rebellion and wrath which typically fuels punk music. The track ends with the frantic impassioned yells and “fuck you” of Becker. Furious repetitions of “I hate LA!” and the demand for “ a better scene” exemplify the new sound SWMRS are striving to forge.
‘Mis Yer Kids’ features an unfortunate amount of synth and completely loses the authentic punk rock vibe that had been established by the first two tracks. There’s no denying that the vocals are consistently strong, however after listening to ‘Brb’ the song feels slightly out of place on the album. ‘Turn Up’ is just as disappointing, venturing more towards something produced by a boy band rather than a kick ass punk rock band. They up their game again with ‘Uncool’. It’s catchy as hell and contains some really admirable bass-driven drum work, and a really unexpected (but great) guitar solo.
Overall, we’ve had a pretty mixed reaction to this album. Don’t get us wrong, it’s good but tracks like ‘Turn Up’ and ‘Miley’ don’t seem to fit on the album and subsequently disrupt the flow. However, there are a few really daring stand alone punk rock songs that are ridiculously addictive. You can’t bash SWMRS for their creativity, but have they gone too far? Drive North is inconsistent from track to track and so ends up sounding disjointed, confused and unpolished. But if you’re a fan of dynamic and angst filled punk rock and are interested in how SWMRS have experimented with it, make sure to give Drive North a listen!
