Looking at the cover, I see a nice drawing of four guys in their drinking outfits. By drinking outfits I do literally mean drinking outfits. This can only mean two things:
- They're only in the music for a laugh and the actual songs plain suck.
- They are a fun punk band playing music that reminds you of the heydays of punk rock in the â90s.
Thankfully, the latter is the case here. Drunktank is your typical melodic and fast skatepunk band like there were so many of the kind in the mid-â90s--but hailing from the Netherlands, mind you. The opening song reminds me of Trashed-era Lagwagon, mostly because of the slightly metallic guitar sound. The rest of the songs are more in the vein of the earlier Pennywise sound, though. Just listen to the choruses of "Mother Russia" or "We Will Not Survive." If it wasn't for the slight Dutch accent and the obvious difference in quality, you'd think it was Fletcher singing. I still hear the occasional Lagwagon-sounding guitar, but overall that influence doesn't shine through as much as the aforementioned Pennywise sound.
Obviously, the question is whether the world needs a band like Drunktank. After all, they bring absolutely nothing new to the table and there have been plenty of bands like this before them. It's not 1999 anymore, though; Epitaph isn't signing a new Pennywise clone every month and the once-so-overplayed sound is now heard far less frequently. I find myself really enjoying the very catchy choruses of the aforementioned "Mother Russia" and "Closer Look," amongst others. Sure, there are a couple of duds here, but when looked upon as a whole, I really have fun listening to this album.
If you're like me and you still like your skatepunk fix every once in a while, give these guys a chance. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised. Not the release of the year, but a nice change of pace to whatever you're listening to--if that isn't Pennywise, that is.