The long awaited first full length album by Arizona´s The Venomous Pinks is upon us with the help of SBÄM Records who quickly become one of the best labels there is out there in the scene. There are ten songs on this one, delivering heartfelt melodic punk rock co produced by Linh Le of Bad Cop/Bad Cop and having a bit of similarity to the mentioned band. The music is, you guessed it, melodic punk rock with nice melodies, epic hooks, choruses just made to hum and sing along all day and wishing you catch this band live. From the song called Mercy with such beautiful chorus and guitar solo, to more punk rock or even street punk oriented No Rules, and also jewel of this record Broken Hearts Club, The Venomous Pinks made one hell of a record and one of my top ten contenders for melodic punk rock record of the year 2022. Vocals are fantastic, harsh and melodic, guitar work and solos, also riffs are phenomenal and bass/drum work keeps the thing thundering. Fantastic record! My whole hearted warm recommendation!
I am sorry, but I have never listened to Only Liars prior to the release of this record. I will correct that mistake immediately. This one contains 12 songs of epic modern punk rock, read pop punk with uplifting and inspiring atmosphere and a touch of melancholy somehow traveling throughout all of the record length. Guitar work is well written, with dose of rock and pop influence behind basic punk rock riffs and mid tempo songs are real little jewels and bring back hope to me that modern pop punk still has bands worth listening to. Vocals remind me a lot of Billy Talent, maybe it is only me, but I heard lots of similarity and backing vocal harmonies are so sweet. Lyrics are personal with a dose of humor and irony like song called Nothing Says ‘Fuck Me’ Like Fall Out Boy(Alcohol You Later) hehe, but my personal favorites are songs like For A Friend, RIP and Storms. This is a good record for all of you who like such music. I like it.
I first discovered Downset back in the early nineties, I think it was 1994 or so. I loved(still do) Biohazard back then and they went on to have a big European tour with Downset and Dog Eat Dog and that is how I discovered those two bands, I thought to myself if Biohazard brings these guys on tour, they must be great. Then I saw a video for Anger on Headbanger’s Ball and was instantly hooked on this Los Angeles hardcore with some rap street smart band. Then I also discovered Social Justice which was pre Downset band in which Ray Oropeza sang and love it. Many decades passed and I know that there was some bad blood between some of the members and kinda two Downset bands at one time, but I love this one with Ray Oropeza delivering his trademark angry mixture of hardcore shouting and rapping. Songs on this one are even more hardcore and less rap influenced in most of the record and lyrically kinda reflect on state of the things today, brining me back to the times when smell of concrete, rain on warm Summer night on concrete, starry nights and stinking streets were my everything. This is a great record and I enjoyed every single minute. Would love to witness Downset gig again any time soon. My personal favorites are Blackest of Days, Won´t Forget and Positive Mind.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 