SWMRS – Berkeley’s On Fire (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 33:15 minutes | 760 MB | Genre: Pop Punk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Fueled By Ramen
The band’s highly-anticipated new record, Berkeley’s On Fire, was produced by Rich Costey (Muse, Death Cab For Cutie) and will be coming out on February 15 via Fueled By Ramen, ahead of their massive UK and European tour. “When we were writing these songs we were very conscious of our role in creating a space for people to escape from the nonstop negative media cycle,” co-frontman Cole Becker says regarding the record’s lyrical content. “It’s a strange time to be young; our generation knows the duality of feeling like an unstoppable force for change in one moment and a powerless wreck in the next. We wanted these songs to document that feeling that we’ve observed closely in ourselves and in the people we’ve shared our music with over the past three years.”
Bay Area punk outfit SWMRS make a significant advance in their maturation with their second set for Fueled by Ramen, Berkeley’s on Fire. While retaining the D.I.Y. spirit and snotty attitudes from their earlier days as Emily’s Army, the quartet borrow from the early-2000s garage rock and post-punk revivals, swapping between cool grooves and jangly bounce like U.K. contemporary Rat Boy. With Rich Costey (Muse, Mew) at the helm, production has improved, the songwriting is tightened, and the taut runtime delivers a brisk, refreshing listen. Much of the album’s charm lies in frontman Cole Becker’s vocals, which affect an irresistible Joe Strummer/Tim Armstrong slack-jawed drawl. Even when he’s singing — as on the sweet “Ikea Date” and the Vines-esque “Bad Allergies” — SWMRS still sound like youthful punks searching for meaning in a messed-up world. That world is targeted in classic punk fashion throughout, with the boys — guitarist Max Becker, drummer Joey Armstrong, and bassist Seb Mueller — taking aim at U.S. politics, societal woes, and capitalist evils, summed up in the thumping “Lose Lose Lose” with the proclamation that “2019 is a fucking disaster.” Other standouts include the jangly bopper “Trashbag Baby,” the new wave bounce “Too Much Coffee,” and the gritty “Lonely Ghosts,” which adopts an air of ’90s alterna-cool. While their entire catalog is worth a listen — from the no-frills punk of their first two efforts to 2015’s Drive North — Berkeley’s on Fire feels different, like a band that’s hitting their stride with a catchy blend of punk-indebted styles delivered with the conviction of a more seasoned act. ~ Neil Z. Yeung
Tracklist:
01. Berkeley’s On Fire
02. Too Much Coffee
03. Trashbag Baby
04. Lose Lose Lose
05. April In Houston
06. Lonely Ghosts
07. Ikea Date
08. Hellboy
09. Bad Allergies
10. Steve Got Robbed
Download: