Last year, I said these words about UK ska punks Codename Colin "This was one of those really special live music moments when you see a band that you know is on the verge of doing something amazing." Well, that amazing thing has happened with the release of their debut album Escape From Everything. Codename Colin had a massive year in 2018 including a performance at Slam Dunk and Level Up festivals, a UK tour and a slot supporting UK ska legends Fandangle (whose bass player Andy Baker produced the album) and [Spunge] at the New Cross Inn. Judging from the quality of Escape From Everything, 2019 is going to be even bigger.
Escape From Everything actually begins with a song that long time Codename Colin fans should be familiar with. Losing Touch originally appeared on the band's debut EP Outgunned. The song has been given a bit of a sprucing up for the album – starting out with a brilliant blast from the Codename Colin horn section, the track immediately gets you in a skanking mood. Until we get to the chorus, then it's big sing-alongs all around. This is a perfect blend of ska and punk. The track itself is about growing up and finding it difficult to stay in contact with your friends because of your adult responsibilities. The second song, The World Is Going To End, really lays down a marker for what to expect from the rest of the album. Of course, it's a crazy amount of fun on a superficial level but, when you give the lyrics a good listen, it's a track that will have you thinking. It's about how humans are destroying the earth and how nobody seems to care about it. I'm loving this newer, more serious side of Codename Colin. The third track, Turn The Tide, was a nice surprise as the band slow things down for more of a reggae style. I don't think that I've ever really heard Codename Colin slow things down like this before but it's something I can really get behind. This is an empowering political song that talks about asking questions and fighting back against the wrongs to try and make the world a better place. Slowing things down allows the band to show off just what fantastic musicians they are as well as allowing singer Charlie Gabriel to display some great emotion and passion on his vocals.
Dream State sees the band begin to talk about mental health, in particular living with anxiety and fighting against those feelings. I can't say enough how important it is for bands to talk about mental health problems and continuing to fight the stigma surrounding it. This is a powerful song that I'm really looking forward to hearing live, the sing-along in the chorus is going to be immense. The bass line, in particular, stands out during the song’s opening, providing a great back bone for the song that the rest of the band brilliantly branch out from. Headspace is a brilliant instrumental piece that will really get you skanking as well as allowing the Codename Colin brass section of Sam (alto sax), Iain (tenor sax) and Snowy (trumpet) to really showcase their skills. Following on from Headspace is Kelly's Missing, a song I heard them play live last year and I've been seriously been looking forward to hearing recorded since. It's an upbeat and angry ska punk song lambasting the idea of 'pay to play' gigs and, in particular, a London based promoter. This is a song that will go down extremely well with any band who has had to deal with such problems. Again brilliantly mixing danceable verses with big sing-along choruses, this is exactly how I love my ska punk. The seventh song, Little Things, returns to the topic of mental health. It's about bottling up your emotions and eventually just blowing your top. It's quite a serious subject and something I'm definitely guilty of but Codename Colin deliver the song in an upbeat and fun way that gives you that special feeling of catharsis when you lose your mind to the song.
Nervous begins with some fun, bouncy horns and the song just has this happy, summertime feel surrounding it that instantly has you smiling. It is a positive song where Charlie sings about trying to change his ways to become a better person. Lewis' bass lines are a driving force in the song, laying down a superb foundation for the rest of the band to play off. Struck slows things back down for a sweet love song. Despite still being a full band effort, the song feels like it's a bit stripped back. It definitely sounds as if some kind of extra percussion, perhaps bongos have been added to the song which adds a great extra layer. On the song, Charlie sings about falling in love with a best friend. The penultimate song on the album is titled Race To Calais. This song really brings the tempo back up. It's a fast paced and fun third wave ska punk song, very much in the style of Less Than Jake. The track recounts an (I assume) autobiographical holiday disaster where Charlie missed his connection to get home. The song is a non-stop party from start to finish, blasting through its beginning, slowing things down in the middle (allowing me a rest), before storming to its finish line. I loved the high intensity brass lines – they gave the track so much life. The album is completed with its title track, Escape From Everything. As you might expect from the song title, it's about finding something that allows you to get away from all the stresses in your world. This will become the band’s big anthem and is something the album was perhaps lacking until we got to the final song. The track has the big end of album grandeur that all the great albums need and this is a great album.
When it came to listening to Escape From Everything, I had very high expectations but Codename Colin really blew me away here. I was expecting great but what I got was incredible. If there were any doubters about Codename Colin being the real deal then this album will silence them. It's a lot of fun, which it was always going to be, but there is so much substance here that everyone will relate to as well.
They've also got a fantastic band name.
Stream and download Escape From Everything here: https://codenamecolin.bandcamp.com/album/escape-from-everything
Like Codename Colin here: https://www.facebook.com/CodenameColin/
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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