Reminders Put Out One of the Best Punk Albums of the Year with Debut
4.7 out of 5 stars
Reminders is a young punk band from the Isle of Wight just off the coast of the Southern coast of England and home to some major music connections including a festival of the same name. This is only really relevant to say that almost nobody COMES from the island to be really well known or anything. It’s much like how nobody thinks normal people live in Las Vegas - that it’s a city of only casinos.
However, you would be very surprised at what these young lads have cooked up on their debut album called Best of Beach Punk. It is probably one of my favorite albums of the year so far.
It has a unique production and recording to it that I can’t quite pin down as to how the sound came to be, but the gang vocals seem more like a synthesized harmony and the recordings have a bit of 70’s analog sound to them (though not scratchy or poor in quality).
The band has a bit of a sound of Catfish and the Bottlemen meets Blink-182 or something to that effect.
The album is laced with love songs that anyone in their 20’s (or younger really) can definitely identify with, but even at the age of 40, I can still totally relate to the songs and enjoy the music - even if I don’t have the same types of relationship issues these days.
“Post Paris Blues” is the first track on the album, and it is English pop-punk all over the place. Even with a rad bass line dropping in and out to accentuate the punk foundation for the music.
“Carousel” is the lead single and probably the most sing-along type of song with lots of energy throughout. It’s definitely akin to some of my favorite punk songs when I was growing up in the 90’s and early 2000’s.
I really like a lot of the songs on this album, but the ones that stand out the most after the first two songs are “Picturesque” and “If You Want It (Don’t Let Me Down).”
The latter is probably my favorite on the album, because the vocal harmonies are just so interesting, and the chorus absolutely rocks hard. I don’t think it sounds like a song you would hear on the radio by any means (at least not in the pop-saturated U.S. radio), but it is so damn good.
“Waiting On You” is another really good song. I will say I think the mastering on the final 4 tracks is a bit off from the rest of the album, and it is a shame as this is one of those songs. It is a really good song. It is just not finished at the same levels as the beginning six tracks of the album.
The album ends with “Between Now & Six Thirty” which is definitely the most laid back and more heartfelt/intimate track on the album. It sort of plays out like a coffeeshop performance of a love song from a heartbroken ex-lover. If that was the sound they were going for, it was nailed on this track.
I would highly suggest you check this album out as it is one of the most memorable punk albums that I have come across in recent years, and it’s not too poppy.