Face To Face

Laugh Now, Laugh Later

Written by: PP on 05/06/2011 06:48:01

It's been a long while since we've heard studio material from legendary melodic punks Face To Face. Their primary reign as the kings of the genre took place around during the heyday of the genre in mid to late 90s, where they released a number of albums which are today considered as classic, must-own albums for anyone looking into how punk rock got into where it is in 2011. "Laugh Now, Laugh Later" is their seventh studio album, and the first new album by the seminal punks since 2002's "How To Ruin Everything".

Although many reunions result in little more than nostalgic reminders of how awesome it used to sound in the past, Face To Face's new album feels like the last nine years never happened. Songs like "It's Not All About You" or "The Invisible Hand" are both quintessential Face To Face tracks; they are fun and bright, lead by playful vocal melodies delivered by the charismatic clean vocals from Trever Keith. Backed by the fast-paced drum beat and the solid bass-lines of the rest of the band, "Laugh Now, Laugh Later" is therefore an excellent lesson to younger bands as to what works when you want to write a bright punk rock album without polish, sugar-coating around your choruses, or glossy production making you sound superficial. Face To Face don't sound summery or light like the dozens upon dozens of pop punk bands we review here at Rockfreaks.net. Instead, they sound punk in the classic meaning of the word, whilst attaching a boatload of sweet, sweet melodies to the term.

It's this no frills, no bullshit approach that makes melodic punk like Face To Face's sound so much better than the modern pop punk we tend to hear in the college radio stations these days. It sounds more genuine and honest in every way, plus the melodies have far more replay value when they aren't just production tricks or cover ups of lack of real songwriting talent through technically flawless vocalists. Trever here might not hit the high notes like Patrick Stump, but yet he owns enough variety to still sound as relevant as ever in 2011. His sense for the timing of wooah-ooh's is impeccable, resulting in the kind of sing-a-longs that echo across the Main Stage at Groezrock Festival from a crowd nearly ten thousand strong. Trust me, I was there last year when they played the big tent. Yes, Face To Face sound like the 90s are still the real deal, but that's because melodic punk / pop punk from that era still stands the test of time, even a decade and a half later.

8

Download: It's Not All About You, The Invisible Hand
For the fans of: H2O, The Bouncing Souls, No Use For A Name
Listen: Myspace

Release date 17.05.2011
Antagonist Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.