The Apostates - Wide Eyed & Determined
By complete coincidence, this album landed through my letterbox a couple of weeks back on the day I was to watch The Apostates play. So I have got to review this, their debut album for Wolves Of Suburbia, whilst knowing how it sounds live too. In fact, on first listen the album really surprised me - gruff punk in a live setting, this is one very melodic offering. It's indie punk with a very, very English accent.
The Apostates are a London three piece that have been active and respected on the DIY punk scene for a good few years now, although they have clearly led themselves in a new direction with Wide Eyed & Determined. There was always an association of slightly anachronistic ska punk when people mentioned their name, but as is often the case these days, the band have turned their back on that particular (sometimes cynically joke-provoking) genre to produce a sound that is part No Idea records, part Pixies and part NME friendly layers of melody-filled harmonies.
Vocalist Adam has a very distinctive, very South East England vocal style and it is the underpinning factor that the band builds on. His jangly, often single note guitar lines sit above a simple but effective rhythm section, providing a spacious but warm sounding record. At its best (for me it's a track called So Now midway through the album) the album is reminiscent of Weezer, although it does stray occasionally towards being slightly more one dimensional than the band are when you watch them play. Having said that, as they have clearly chiselled out their own, individual sound in terms of UK punk bands, there is little to condemn about the fact they have produced a very idiosyncratic record.
If you're in the mood for some easy going, unassuming punk rock, then Wide Eyed & Determined won't steer you too far wrong. They can offer a catchy chorus pretty much en tap if this is anything to go by.