FACE
TO FACE - 'Protection' review
When
I got into melodic punk-rock as a teen, FACE TO FACE were one of the
first bands that I properly got into, and, despite not loving stuff
since the album 'How to Ruin Everything', they've remained one of my
favourites. Subsequent to that album, they've released one that I
didn't like at all, one that was a little better, and have arrived at
this, which, thankfully, is probably the best thing they've done in
about ten / fifteen years. For those that aren't familiar with FACE
TO FACE, they play melodic punk rock that sits well alongside bands
like BAD RELIGION, DESCENDENTS, and THE OFFSPRING's faster stuff, but
still has it's own sound, especially in Trever's distinct vocal
delivery and arrangements. If ever there was an album to show how
crucial Scott is to this band too, then this is it; his basslines on
here are absolutely sublime (and are given a lot of moments to shine
in the more guitar-bare sections), and Danny's drumming is on point
too, especially when they play at speed (they have this particular,
awesome speed that they only use once or twice per album, and on here
it's on 'I Won't Say I'm Sorry'). As usual, lyrically this is more
personal than political, and there are some pretty memorable choruses
on here. Even if this isn't quite what they used to be capable of,
there are some good songs on here, stylistically falling somewhere
between the classics of their self-titled album and 'Reactionary',
and their album prior to this, 'Three Chords and a Half Truth', and
it's definitely worth checking out if you like that 90s melodic punk
sound. A decent effort; I'd recommend the songs 'Double Crossed',
'Say What You Want', and 'Fourteen Fifty-Nine' for something a bit
different, but I'd also like to stress how great their previous
albums 'Don't Turn Away', their self-titled one, 'Ignorance is Bliss'
and 'Reactionary' are, so they're worth checking out too.
xox
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