Album Review: Terminal Amusements by Drakulas (by Chris Bishton)

Terminal Amusements is Drakulas’ second album and was released on Dine Alone Records last month. Described as an art-rock quartet from Austin, Texas, it's not a term given to a band that would normally prick my attention. I mean, I had to Google what art-rock is (a sub-genre of rock with an avant-garde approach, by the way, which was apparently at its peak in the late 60s and early 70s). However, touring with Spells just before COVID-19 hit and boasting members from the Riverboat Gamblers, The Marked Men and Rise Against is a CV that certainly does get me to sit up and take note.

So, first thing’s first. Art-rock… this is not an orgcore, gruff, pop punk record. Far from it. It's something quite different to what I would usually buy these days. If it was released in 1980, it would be straight up post-punk/new wave – there's a helluva lot synth all over the album. And there's quite a nod given to bands like The Damned and The Dickies – bands that have been around for a couple of generations. Perhaps this is also why they're described as art-rock, although even Dave Vanian and Leonard Graves Phillips et al. weren't knocking about in bands the late 60s?

The band says that the record draws on a fictional, late 70s New York City. Songs about porn, drug use, gangs and seedy clubs. A kinda reverse engineered dystopia. Yet, despite these references and comparisons to long established bands that started out in the 70s, Drakulas and this record are fresh. So much so that, now having listened to this record a lot, I think I get the art-rock thing. Drakulas are modernist, they are experimental and they're here with a record in 2020 that works so well.

The first track is Sin Will Fill You. Awkward guitar chords start before a manic two minutes that really does remind me of The Dickies. I immediately realise the record is going to be a bit different to what I'm used to (don't get me wrong, I do like The Dickies, but I rarely listen to them these days and I wouldn't buy anything new from them).

This is followed by Level Up, the single from the album released late last year. It's slower, perhaps poppier – it’s very catchy – and one of my favourites on the record. Dark Black ups the tempo again. Imagine a really sped up Joy Division. It's really cool.

The record continues like this throughout. The momentum does change from song to song, but it's all pretty fast. I don't think you'd get anything other than that with members from the Riverboat Gamblers and The Marked Men. The stand out tracks for me are Pretty Tommy, which is fast and Fashion Forward, a bit slower and more like The Damned.

All 12 songs are over in less than 30 minutes, as the record concludes with the title track Terminal Amusements, which starts with just a vocal and backing guitar before drums and the full band crash in after a minute or so to bring the album to a frantic finish.

People say trends in music always come back around, but I can't say I've noticed any kind of trend for art-rock recently. Instead, I'd say Drakulas are pretty crisp and contemporary, at least to the point where they stand out from so many others in the punk scene at the moment. They're not going to be everyone's taste, but I think they're pretty aware that's the case.

So perhaps that's it. Perhaps that's the answer. Perhaps you're going to go away and listen to Terminal Amusements and think "What's he on about? They're not even punk. Of course they're different ’cause they're not even in the scene."

If that's the case, then I'm fine with that because, as the saying goes, the definition of punk is liking whatever you like. And I really like this.

Stream and download Terminal Amusements on Bandcamp here.

Like Drakulas on Facebook here.

This review was written by Chris Bishton.