Monday 11 December 2017

Album Review: Tuning Out by Wicked Bears


Wicked Bears are a three piece pop punk band from Salt Lake City, Utah. Featuring Casey Keele on vocals and bass, Nick Fleming on guitar and vocals and Ken Vallejos on drums and vocals, Wicked Bears recently released their debut full length album on Hidden Home Records. Titled Tuning Out, the ten song release promised to be a lot of fun.


Tuning Out begins with the song 2049. The track wastes no time in laying down some fast buzzsaw guitars, letting you know exactly what to expect from the band. Fast pop punk in a similar vein to Teeange Bottlerocket and Masked Intruder. 2049 takes a look at life in the future and still feeling like you want to escape from your life. What really attracted me to the song was the tempo and melody. It's fast paced and full of so much energy. The music goes along at a rapid pace whilst Keele's vocals deliver a fantastic melody. Following 2014 is the album's title track Tuning Out. Tuning Out follows a similar musical style to the opening song with the guitars and drums blasting us through the song, with Keele's vocals again laying down the melody. At the halfway mark there is a fantastic breakdown section in the song with the drums and a rumbling bass line shining through along with some great harmonies. Tuning Out is about modern entertainment and how it's brainwashing people. The third song is titled No Vacancy. To go along with the Wicked Bears pop punk sound there is a nice addition of some keys provided by Christian Lucy. This adds another interesting element to the Wicked Bears sound. The addition of some gang vocals in the chorus is also great, giving the song a bigger and more inclusive feel.

What a great track the fourth song Nickel Arcade is! It hooks you immediately with its fast paced opening with its simple technique of guitar and vocals. Straightaway Nickel Arcade is jam packed with an irresistible energy that's impossible not to get swept away in. The songwriting here is so smart. At first listen you just think that this is a song about hanging out with your mates but if you look deeper into the song it turns out it's actually a look at the current financial climate that the band don't necessarily agree with. Reebok Classics is up next and is a track where things are slowed down slightly. This is one of Wicked Bears more anthemic tracks with a chorus that especially needs to be sung along with. The drum and bass playing is again given a chance to shine on here with Vallejos' drumming in particular really standing out on the song. I think that the sixth song We Got Robbed is my favourite on Tuning Out. It's an interesting song in that it sounds very upbeat but it's actually a story about having their stuff stolen in Berkley. This is a song that just cries out for crowd participation with an incredibly catchy chorus and a delightful breakdown. This was lots of fun. The seventh song is named Cameron. Cameron falls into a more powerpop style of music. The keys are back on this song adding something to the sound that really helps Wicked Bears stand out. The song is about not understanding why someone loves death metal music but really wanting to.

Up next is 60 WPM. 60 WPM is about feeling stuck and being unhappy in your job and daydreaming about living another life. I like how the song slowly intensifies throughout its duration. It is only subtle but it works really well within the song. Wicked Bears do an amazing job of painting a picture in their songs. Their lyrics allow you to imagine what they're singing about. In my head I can kind of imagine a music video for this song. The penultimate song is titled Chattering Teeth. Somewhat surprisingly Chattering Teeth is an acoustic song with a tiny bit of keys for effect. There seems to be more emotion in Keele's voice here, though that may just be because the buzzsaw guitars aren't accompanying him on this song. It does make you realise what a great voice he has here though. Last up is Mega Powers. The full band are back here to finish Tuning Out with a big flourish. That is something that they certainly do. Mega Powers is a relentless pop punk track that never lowers its intensity. It feels like there is lot more emphasis on the music here with the drums in particular taking a real beating. I absolutely loved the final couple of lines of the song that go "Break The Fourth Wall For No Reason: 'Hello! We Hope You Like Our Show, And We Hope You Have A Good Weekend!'" It's just a really fun and quirky way to finish the album.

Wicked Bears have put out one of my favourite pop punk records of the year. There are a lot of bands in the pop punk scene and sometimes they can all sound a bit samey. Wicked Bears however have somehow found a way to sound fresh and exciting whilst not straying too far from what we all love about pop punk music. If Wicked Bears aren't currently on your radar I strongly suggest that you make the effort to put them on there. Dead in the middle, in the cross hairs. Seriously, don't sleep on this band. They're terrific.

Stream and download Tuning Out here: https://wickedbears.bandcamp.com/

Like Wicked Bears here: https://www.facebook.com/WickedBearsSLC/

This review was written by Colin Clark.

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