It sometimes feels as if barely a week goes by without some pop-punk band or other being declared as The Next Big Thing. Marketing and hype often play their part but without the songs to match a lot of bands find themselves quickly cast aside in favour or something even more new and exciting. Handguns have not yet really found themselves under the spotlight, and instead they’ve earned themselves a loyal following, and a fair bit of critical praise, off of the back of their previous two albums through a mix of hard work and passion.
‘Disenchanted’ opens with the use of a film quote serving as an intro of sorts to ‘Self Portrait’. It’s a typical way of starting an album but on this occasion it doesn’t add much. Thankfully the song itself is brilliant with the crisp guitars and rapid drumming immediately setting the tone, and the harmonies and gang vocals helping to elevate the lyrics to sing-along status. ‘The Worst In Me’ maintains the sense of urgency and nervous energy with a succession of strong riffs supporting a memorable chorus.
Despite the music proving otherwise, a lot of the song titles don’t suggest typical pop-punk themes, and one of the strengths of ‘Disenchanted’ comes from the way Handguns tackle familiar issues of loss, self-doubt, and isolation. One of the best songs, ‘My Lowest Point’, features fairly sombre lyrics, but they’re lifted up by some excellent guitar riffs that turns the song into a cathartic release of energy and emotion that many people can identify with. Similarly ‘Low Spirits’ tackles the damage that self doubt can do with the solid verses exploding into a brilliant chorus.
Whilst there’s not a bad song on ‘Disenchanted’ there are a couple of moments where Handguns briefly falter. ‘Carbon Copy Elitist’ wastes time with it’s tongue in cheek intro and ‘Missed Call’ simply lacks the spark that all the other songs possess. Elsewhere however, Handguns are on absolute top form with the passionate vocals of ‘Bury Me’ and the early Saves The Day meets modern pop-punk styling of ‘Conjuring My Youth’ being two of many highlights.
Title track ‘Disenchanted’ throws a brief acoustic bridge into a fast and energetic blast of pop-punk but Handguns save one of their best until last with ‘Recovery’. As the name suggests it’s a positive and uplifting end to the album with crunching and melodic riffs that blows away any lingering negative feelings and points to a much brighter future. Far from being the inward looking effort that could have been created, ‘Disenchanted’ is a near faultless record with a theme of hope running throughout. It may also see Handguns getting a lot more attention, and if so then it will be thoroughly deserved.
CHRIS HILSON