Escape Artists are a five-piece, female-fronted pop punk band from Vienna - Austria. On the 23rd of January they have a new release titled Never Die coming out and I was lucky enough to be sent an early copy to review.
Before I start I should mention that this genre of pop punk
is not a favourite of mine so Escape Artists might have a small battle to win
me around! The opening track is called Rewind and begins with a simple drum
beat and some upbeat sounding guitar chords that remind me of American teen
music pop punk. Then the vocals hit and I'm hooked to the song. If anyone asks
me who has the best female vocal in punk music I'll always answer Cat from
Demon Smiles, but this comes very close. I'm also reminded of Tsunami Bomb, who
were a great band. With these likenesses I'm sure this is going to be an album
I'm definitely going to enjoy. The opening chords of the following track Next
Generation really make me want to bang my head. This song goes along at a
quicker pace that the first but maintains an excellent melodic quality. This is
the first time on the album tha Escape Artists use a male screaming harmony as
well. This adds a fantastic extra layer to the track and some great punk rock
aggression. The beginning of song number three, My Safe, has a Millencolin
skate punk feel before Pia's lovely pop vocal joins the fray. This song is a mid-tempo
paced track that doesn't stray too far from what you would expect from the band
after listening to the first couple of songs. I really enjoyed the section
towards the end of the track where you think it's finished, the song fades out
and then there is one final chorus to complete the song with a bang.
Letters From Above is the fourth song on Never Die and is
the first time Escape Artists really slow things down. This is the kind of song
I can see being really popular with younger fans of pop punk music, it's
pleasant enough but not really for me. Make My Way starts with some great
guitar work which you know is going to build into a big sound that's going to
get you moving. There is a great sense of urgency in this song created
musically and with the screams that appear in the chorus. There is a fun tempo
shift in the middle of the song that stops it getting stagnant and allows the
track to finish with a flurry. The penultimate song is named Highscore and is
the most up-tempo on the record. On this song, Pia's vocals do a lot of work
carrying the melody of the track and this makes it really stand out compared to
the other songs on the record. I can see this being the song that really
becomes the fan favourite. It's upbeat and catchy and has plenty of moments
that will get a crowd singing and dancing; what you really want in a song
really. The final song on Never Die is an acoustic track called Voices. It's a
nice if not somewhat predictable way to finish things up. This really shows off
the versatility in Pia's singing abilities. She is able to blast through some
punk rock as well as showing a softer side to her style here.
Like I said earlier this style of punk isn't usually my cup
of tea but there are definitely a lot of positives to the release. I can see
this going down very well with a slightly younger audience as well as catching
the attention of some older punk rockers.
Get more information on Escape Artists here: https://www.facebook.com/escapeartistsvienna
Get more information on Escape Artists here: https://www.facebook.com/escapeartistsvienna
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