Officer Down: Dead Lands

Artist: Officer Down
Title: Dead Lands
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 7th July 2014
Reviewed By: Quinn

Officer Down are a new band to me. I'd not heard of them until last week yet I'm ready to tell everyone I speak to they should check them out, listen to their albums and go to their shows because they are definitely a band worthy on your attention. Right from the very beginning, Dead Lands feels very familiar, because from the opening chords of the title track, everything that you expect from a skate-punk album is delivered and doesn't stop right until the last of of the last track on the record.

I've been listening to it for just over a week now and I can't get enough of it. There's nothing particularly special about it, but then there doesn't need to be. It's fast, fun, high-octane skate-punk with balls and melody that doesn't let up and gets your head vigorously nodding along to every beat. You might even find yourself singing along, especially to tracks like Open Waters or Haunt These Streets that have plenty of lyrics to hook you in unwittingly on repeat listens. There are gang vocals aplenty too that often accompany meaty rhythm sections driving powerful, heart thumping beats through your speakers.

It's also wonderfully recorded, extremely tight and really well produced. Niall's kick drum rarely gets a rest throughout this album, and it's a wonder that he manages to keep such a neat beat with such high tempo strokes, often playing single and double strokes in quick succession. Everything about the tracks is very clear; every lyric, every chord, every drum hit, all comes across supremely well; not a single note from any of the band is lost throughout these tracks which is a testament to their producer Dave Draper of Tower Studios in Pershore.

Officer Down are only a three piece yet manage to pack a major punch and keep things interesting throughout, sometimes even relying on bass to deliver the deliver the melody which is never an easy task. It works though, and I often I find myself looking forward to the brief moments where the Gammon's guitar drops out and we're left listening to a few short bars from Shay. That's not to say the Gammon is the weakest member, not at all, his guitars really drive the tracks alone, adding weight and tunes to the tracks that you'd expect. But it's almost a role reversal that, on some occasions, what would usually be the lead guitar plays second fiddle to the rhythmic bass .

If I had one criticism, it wouldn't be the lack of diversity in the album (each song basically contains the same parts as the others), or the length of the tracks (most come in at under three minutess but they manage to cram so much in that is in noticeable) it's that there are often slightly longer than necessary instrumental sections. Whilst these parts often serve as a breather between the relentless and mostly vocal tracks, they can sometimes go for a measure or two more than you naturally expect them to. You feel they are leading into something even more energetic and upbeat because of the lengthy build up but they tend to just fall back to the chorus or, in the case of Dead Lands meander right through to the end of the song. This is probably just the musician in me being picky about the way Officer Down have chosen to structure their songs, it's only a minor quibble and not one that lets the album down in any way.

There's not much else I can say. It's a great album, definitely something you could stick on at a party and leave for everyone to enjoy, or to listen to on your way to work in the morning to wake you up or as you get ready to go out, so you're pumped up ready for whatever the night throws at you.