The Explosion have hardly been household names on this side of the Atlantic in recent times. However, since the Boston punk outfit signed to Virgin Records they have been regularly sighted in the UK, with solo shows and high profile support slots. ‘Black Tape’ is The Explosion‘s major label debut release and should bring the band kicking and screaming to a much bigger audience.
Now let’s make one thing clear from the onset of this review: ‘Black Tape’ is not an album that is going to change your life. It is a straight forward and honest punk rock album, featuring familiar themes and sounds. If it’s originality and innovation you want you aren’t going to find it here.
Ok, so with that disclaimer out of the way, lets get down to business. ‘Black Tape’ is one of the best punk rock releases I’ve heard this year. As mentioned, this is highly unoriginal stuff, but that doesn’t matter if the material is this good. This album is well crafted, is chock full of anthemic songs and has a lyrical quality missing from many of it’s genre-mates
From the very first strains of ‘Deliver Us’, The Explosion grab you with their brash attitude and quality song writing. ‘Filthy Insane’, a stylish slab of punk rock, hooks you in even further and if the band haven’t won you over by the time the superb single ‘Here I Am’ finishes, then they never will. The Explosion have a sound that crosses a wide spectrum of what we now call punk – they can appear fast and heavy and poppy and melodic in equal measures. This is an album full of great songs but a special mention has to go to the twin pairing of ‘Mothers Cry’ and ‘Atrocity’. Both songs manage to be powerful and moving and showcase a further dimension to the band.
With ‘Black Tape’ The Explosion have crafted an album that deserves to be heard by as many people as possible. Ignore the fact they’re signed to a major, in fact ignore any and all pre-conceptions you may have. The Explosion should be judged on the quality of their music, and in that department they blow most of the current batch of bands out of the water. In a scene full of diluted and mass-produced identikit punk bands, The Explosion are a rare breath of fresh air.
Mark