Title: Derailer
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 23rd October 2015
Reviewed By: Jon Peach
This week I'm looking at Californian punks Sic Waiting, who will be releasing their new album Derailer on 23rd October. The album has huge pedigree as it was produced by Chris Chasse (of Rise Against, Great Collapse, Nations Afire) and is released on Felony Records.
So before I tell you about the tracks on Derailer, let me just say that Sic Waiting have really pulled it out of the bag for this one. They are due to release an album which may shoot them into the stratosphere of SoCal punk, a genre that has been bubbling under the surface for years, but seems to be making a real comeback recently. Derailer is a fantastically varied album, filled with a mixture of up-tempo punk grooves, pop-punk passion and the soul of modern America. The musicianship on the album is brilliant, every note, beat and vocal is thought out and considered, and played with a hell of a lot more skill than some bands in the genre. So let me tell you why Derailer really works for me...
Home Is Where You Hit Your Head, the second song on Derailer starts with a fantastic intro (one of the reasons I picked this song out). The guitar and drums seem to circle around each other: it's like they are fighting each other with technique, but in a good way! It's only twenty fleeting seconds, but it's great, finishing almost with an agreement on tempo and style...And boom! What you're faced with is a fast-paced punk song; it's exactly what you've come to expect from SoCal punk. The verses are filled with speed-punk drums, chugged guitar riffs and angst-ridden vocals with great lyrics. But for me it's when the chorus kicks in: absolute pop-punk perfection! You get big vocal harmonies, arpeggio guitars; it's the soundscape of it all. It takes you back to the soundtracks of films in the late 90s, American Pie style. Sun, sex and SoCal punk! You instantly hear the resurgence of a genre, you can actually feel it...it's tangible and I for one am glad to have it back!
Track five, The Best Mistake You Make, starts with a slow chug of guitar and drums, with a purposeful drag on the bass. Jared's vocals break through, grungy and dark, "I'm not the same but I haven't changed, still waiting for the devil to call my name" and so on...it's just a short verse intro, the track runs up exploding into life. Pop-punk with an edgy guitar sound and melodic vocals. It's bouncy, with the drums pushing the track along nicely... There is a lovely drop halfway through, transporting you to California at night, driving passed the surf-kissed beaches and moonlit bays... The song finishes with huge punky vocals from Jared and another exploding run at the end. It's a journey you just have to take...
A Red House and Bones, track seven, is slightly different from the rest of Derailer. It starts with the thud and growl of the bass, with picked guitars glistening over the top of tight rock drums. Jared's vocals start clean, but they still hang with the angst you've come to expect... "All I know, I learned from the ebb and the flow..." The song is lifted for the bridges with distorted guitar chords and fantastic harmonies vocals. And the big, dramatic chorus cements A Red House and Bones as a strung-out ballad of Green Day proportions. And I don't say that flippantly, there are a lot of bands out there trying hard to write Green Day-esque ballads, and I get the feeling Sic Waiting weren't trying to do that at all. I believe it just happened organically, by accident, and it is really good!
To be totally honest with you, I've had a busy week driving from gig to gig, and because I don't drive I'm stuck with my brother's choice of music in the car, which has been pretty questionable. He loves great music just like me, he just never has it in the car...however this week, all we have listened to is Derailer by Sic Waiting...
Now that good people is a recommendation, not only from me, but from my twin brother who had Elton John, Arctic Monkeys and more in his car... So if you want to be part of the SoCal punk resurgence go out on the 23rd October and get yourself a copy of Derailer by Sic Waiting.
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