Liverpudlian pop punk four piece WSTR get 2017 off to a great start with an early contender for one of the albums of the year and they’ve wasted no time at all in making a name for themselves.
Debut album ‘Red, Green or Inbetween’ is a delight from start to finish, consisting of some brutally honest lyrics, which really hit home to anyone who’s ever loved and lost, yet instilling a sense of fun that all good pop punk albums do. It’s an album which comes from a dark place with the majority of the tones being self reflection and past mistakes made, but at no point does it ever become a burden to listen to. There’s some absolute hits here in the shape of opening track ‘Featherweight’ and the later ‘Hightail’.
Musically, it’s an album which may not sound a far cry from any of your pop punk favourites. It’s heavily influenced by giants such as Blink 182 and New Found Glory, a fact that comes across loud and clear in their sound, but that’s in no way a bad thing as they deliver an overall outstanding entry to the genre.
In the band’s own words this is a bit of a break up record but it’s one that somehow manages to tell it with an upbeat tempo that will have even the hard-hearted of us singing along. If this is an album borne from a feeling of self worthlessness then it’s sure to have the opposite effect for WSTR, propelling them forward and hopefully giving them a renewed sense of purpose as one of the UK’s best pop punk acts.
CHRISTOPHER LEE