Review Summary: "Gavin killed a nun"
Crabhammer is a modern skacore outfit with an edge that cuts closer to the skin than you’re likely to expect from the genre in what year is it? 2015? The band more often relies on the “core” side of their equation than ska, sometimes even leaning on metalcore tendencies. The most immediate contemporary bands that come to mind were more or less known for trying to be much more than your typical ska punk/core band. Much of this EP easily compares to the likeness of
The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, or skacore juggernauts
The Suicide Machines. There are even a few passages that remind me a lot of
Pain (USA), a band that greatly resented being labeled as ska. What’s interesting as well is the band’s habit of playing on the pop punk side of ska punk when they aren’t going in on all out riffage. It makes for a noteworthy contrast throughout the EP’s run. The numerous facets of punk traversed through tempo and mood changes recall back to the overall feel of albums like
Destruction by Definition. There aren’t any out right extreme genre mash ups per se, but what is explored is done on the fun side of spastic, expertly and without fear. This point is worth emphasizing in that the band keeps an important aspect of good ska: It’s f
ucking fun.
However, some debut release symptoms are undeniably present. The band doesn’t seem to quite know exactly where their final sound will end up, but in spite of this, they make desperately needed changes to their scene's formula. The occasional amateurish antics and less than perfect production is more than made up for with passionate energy and new ideas. The appropriately titled “Offend Pop Punk” purposefully challenges convention alongside the rest of the tracklist. For a punk band, the album’s sound is impressively layered with every member pulling more than enough weight. Complex horn lines are fitted organically to songs and never feel like they’re there just for the sake of being there. When it’s necessary to fit the mood warm synths are occasionally swirled into a song. There are even a few chip-tune interludes reminiscent of
Bomb the Music Industry!
The band doesn’t ever fall victim to the lazy habits of 90% of modern bands in related genres that play three guitar chords with a copycat bass line and horns that blat anything that just happens to be in the same key whenever it is convenient for them. Instead, the band keeps things fresh in a genre that has seen more revivals than many believe is rightfully deserved. With all this obvious work put towards making sure things never get stale, it’d be easy to neglect things like catchy choruses, meaningful lyrics, or even a constant album tone, but
Peer Pressure at a High School Party maintains all of these things.
The band’s mission statement can arguably be found in the lyric, “The way we view the world is not a disease, but it’s contagious as Hell, so it might as well be.” The line carries a quality of premonition. It could be that the band’s style proves to be very influential in the near future. If it manages to hit the right vein in a reasonable time frame, it’s got the music to back up such a bold declaration.
