Band: Pour Habit
Record: Suiticide
Genre: 90's punk rock, melodic speed-punk
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Release date: Out now
When I first heard Pour Habit on the 2009 Warped Tour comp, I instantly fell for their speedy riffs, catchy vocals and good old, fast punk rock.
But what is their debut Fat Wreck Chords album like?
It depends how much you like new school punk rock. There isn't much variation here, but Pour Habit stick to what they know best - and that is certainly a good thing.
Opener 'Institution' is a fantastic introduction to their blend of catchy punk, political lyrics and... speed! It's the best track off the album, no doubt about that (think of that what you will).
After ten minutes you realise it's more of the same, but the songs are pretty good and Pour Habit are definitely a distinctive band - you hear the high-pitched singing, fun-loving fast guitar and energetic drumming and you immediately know it's them.
Album miss 'Bad Luck Drunk' isn't amazing but it sums up their humour and fun-loving attitude: "Oh yea gimme a drink, hell yea I need a drink, Pour Habit!"
Pour Habit also add a few metal-inspired licks and solos into the mix (nothing too crazy at all, don't worry about that), but that sound works really well.
I want to love the record as a whole. I want to say this is the best new American punk band in ages... but... the songs just lack a special something - they have energy, enthuiasm, speed, catchiness, intelligence and fun, but they're... a little messy.
The structure could be improved. For example standout track 'Zion' starts off at a slow ska pace, and it sounds brilliant. But after just one minute the band have gone mental again and are blasting their way through a song that would be much better with more control and structure.
Lets hear more of that ska, less repetitive beats, more build-ups, more control and more variety. It's not a bad start for the American lads but I expect a real hit when album number two on Fat Wreck comes around the corner.
But what do I know? This is their style, and they probably love playing like this.
It's not the fact that I think each song is just mediocre - each song listened by itself is pretty damn good by anyone's punk rock standards. But...
As a record, Suiticide unfortunately falls a little short of the mark - at 24 minutes long and no variation in drum beat this album deserves no more than a solid 3 out of 5. Totally worth $8 from the Fat Wreck store though.
They're not a massive band just yet though and it'd be interesting to see what more people think of Pour Habit. What do you reckon?
Score: PPP
Top tracks: Institution, Evolution, Zion
Reviewer: Dom Sacco
