Thursday, November 1, 2012

The APOSTATES: "Wide-Eyed & Determined"

Rating: RRRR
Label: Wolves Of Suburbia/PrescriptionPR 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

That's not dancing... That's a seizure!!! Indeed, it's the fun title taken from track ten off the debut album by U.K. London rockers The Apostates. But in all honesty. That's not a title... That's a riddle??? The correct answer... obviously Phil Collins!!! We've been watching the eighties videos and it looks like a geezer having a seizure while pretending to dance [:-)]. Nevermind the b.s. This particular power-trio consisting of Adam Stone (vocals/guitar), Steve Reynolds (bass/vocals), Mike Saminaden (drums/vocals) have slowly been building up a fanbase via hard work and well over 400 live shows, as well as a session for the U.K. Radio 1 Punk Show.

Are they proper Punks or merely pretending? No old school 70's pin-head would ever classify The Apostates as proper punk-rockers anyhow. They're too neat, too polished, too radio friendly, too melodic, and too darn polite. It's really not the Johnny Rotten image and spit-em-in-the-face attitude. It's the new wave 'ala Green Day, which in reality means that this record have just as much in common with The Alarm, The Smiths, The Pogues, modern rock, as well as their pure punk rock heritage of The Clash and The Damned. In other words, do not expect to find anything remotely similar to Sex Pistols or The Ramones.

It's nice and clean punk rock with just the right amount of hooks to cross-over and perhaps attract the average rock fan? The melodies speak of traditional U.K. working class and a journey from the shadowed beginning to the lighter side of living. I'm surprised over the many times that I'm reminded of The Alarm and their 'Strenght' and 'Change' albums. How sadly forgotten they are in comparsion to other acts from the same decade. Tracks showing their Smiths/Morrissey side (Sixteen, The Junkie In Me, etc.) where their flexiable singer (Stone) likes to spice things up, switching from basic punk vocals to the sophisticated wailing of the posh poet aka Morrissey.

Would you still enjoy this if you're only into Green Day and never heard of the above mentioned acts? Yeah, but you need to be a tad more open-minded. This is after all U.K. and not U.S. In fact, it's pefect background music to one of those superb series of 'This Is England 86, 88, etc'. If they should ever cover the year of 2012 that is. Release date: December 10th.
www.theapostates.co.uk

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