Rockfreaks.net

Dead Giveaway

We Come In Pieces

Written by: PP on 27/05/2015 22:59:11

Holland sure knows how to shell out excellent punk bands with a melodic twist to them. We have previously come across Antillectual who channel their inner Propagandhi influence throughout their sound, and here we have the next one in line: Dead Giveaway from Utrecht/Nijmegen. Their debut album "We Come In Pieces" is an excellent record drenched in powerful sociopolitical lyricism and catchy, melodic hardcore style punk rock with a knack for irresistible melodies. Basically, think Authority Zero, Rise Against and similar sort of melodic hardcore/punk bands that lean more on the melodic side of their expression rather than raw guitar power. Much like The Shell Corporation and indeed national colleagues Antillectual, Dead Giveaway hit the nail on its head when it comes to writing depth-laden punk rock that should appeal to all left-leaning intellectuals based on its lyrical content.

Take, for example, the comparatively slower title track "We Come In Pieces". Here, the band use all relevant melodic punk principles instrumentally, throw in lots of reverb and treble to achieve a pleasantly ringing soundscape, and then slow things down to some serious analysis on our society at large: "Is making profit all that matters out there? / Feel like a child screaming this is no fair / Overlooking all the consequences don’t care / And it’s so attractive to be unaware / Or are we gonna bash it in?". Similar questioning of the status quo is scattered all across the record, with the society around us serving as the starting point for their voices of disappointment and shouts of disbelief over the state of things in the world. While many bands opt for a similar sociopolitical analyses based on intelligence (Bad Religion being the pioneers, obviously), few are able to marry that with sensible songwriting and choruses to kill for. Dead Giveaway do just that here: "Breach" and "Collateral" and the pop punk-driven "Tunnel Vision" are all examples where you'll be singing along after a couple of listens verse and chorus alike.

It's not an instant match made in heaven, though. Thanks to depth-laden songwriting, many songs require a couple of listens before you can properly appreciate them. This is due to an approach that's not as obviously fists in the air powerful as Rise Against, but at the same time far away enough from pop punk to avoid the sugarcoated choruses altogether. Again, Propagandhi is a good parallel to draw because while their sound is heavier and more punk in places, they often find themselves in a similar zone in between two different sounds as Dead Giveaway do on "We Come In Pieces". Either way, this one is a hidden gem that the European punk scene is yet to discover.

Download: We Come In Pieces, Breach, Tunnel Vision
For the fans of: Authority Zero, Rise Against, Antillectual, The Shell Corporation
Listen: Facebook

Release date 19.03.2015
White Russian Records