Posing as a moderately good Misfits-inspired outfit, Bullets And Octane put forth eleven catchy punk rock tunes on their debut, The Revelry. A bit slicker and an ounce of polish gives the band a slightly cleaner sound, but it's marginal, thankfully.

The vocals work much differently though, mostly employing fairly smooth, under-the-breath crooning in the verses only to snarl whiplash yells for the choruses, all in front of standard-fare, backing "uh-uh-oh!" / "whuh-uh-oh!s" in all the appropriate places. Pounding drums and distorted power chords also make their due appearances for all 32 minutes, but surprisingly, there's rarely a dull moment. There may never be a totally enthralling climax, but it gets the job done. From the obnoxious "LA DA DA, LA DA DA, LAT DAT DA DUH DU DUH!" and ultra-catchy chorus of "Pirates" to the almost power-pop balladry (for them, anyway) of "Places" to the distorted vocal lines in "Waste Away," they mix things up just enough.

There really isn't much to say about the album. I can't say any of the tracks truly stand out, but none flop too easily. Also, their show is supposedly a great catch, so I guess that stripped of the occasional studio magickry, that these would work really well. Apples and oranges aside, this isn't one of the greatest debuts the year has seen, but it's better than most would immediately expect.

MP3s
Save Me Sorrow
Sweet Dreams
Pirates