GenQ - For the not so straight individual

The Brisbane born boys of The Scare play the kind of new wave punk rock that the British festival circuit loves, so it’s fitting that they’re now based in the UK. Their debut album ‘Chivalry’ is at times needle in the veins adrenaline punk rock, and at others garage influenced rock with distorted riffs and restrained drums. Either way it never quite hits any mark above mediocre.

For the most part ‘Chivalry’ is loaded with the sort of relentless, thrashing and explosive sounds that dominate punk rock bands, but most of it seems utterly forgettable. Strong opening track and lead single, ‘Bats! Bats! Bats!’, has a riff that sounds suspiciously like that of the White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’, and tracks like ‘Copycat Victims’ and ‘Vixen Vixens’ are interchangeable. A change of pace on flamenco influenced garage track ‘Not in Love’ isn’t enough to keep you interested, and the exciting intro to ‘Ghetto Psalms’ promises what it never really delivers.

It’s not all bad though. The garage sound and the somewhat soaring chorus of ‘Tragedy’ are a highlight and ‘Cry Junkie’ is a return to a pure punk beat and simple vocals. ‘Eighty Eight’ is the lone stand-out of the album. The 70’s feel surfing safari guitar riff reminded me of the opening to The Offspring track, ‘Come Out and Play’, and the “wa wa ohs� of the chorus give it a great hook, the strong beat helping to deliver one of the albums best toe-tapping tracks.

Front man Kiss Reid’s Jagger-esque vocals grow irritating. His style of phrasing and intonating can be at times appealing but it was more annoying than anything and half the time I’m not sure what language he’s speaking. The only exception comes in the form of ‘She’s Sleeping in Strangers Beds’, the Nick Cave style menacing vocals making it clear he’s been an influence on the song, if not the band. Closing track ‘Does This Ever End’ could have been so much more than it is, the thumping drums never given enough space to lift the song into something worthwhile.

‘Chivalry’ doesn’t seem to have the irreverent feel that you get from a band like The Hives, and the listener never feels like they’re a part of the music. It lacks any great hooks that make the songs memorable or even palatable for the masses, and most of them roll into one another. For a band that many say are unconventional and utterly original it all sounds like it’s been done before.. with a bit more class.