Album Review: Handguns - MMIX

Before even listening to the latest effort from Pennsylvania’s Hand Guns, everything about this release screams generic pop punk. A six track release at just eleven minutes in length, with the obligatory 10 second filler track thrown into the mix doesn’t exactly look like ground breaking stuff and after listening it’s clear to see that this doesn’t deviate from the norm in musical content either.

Opener ‘Two Weeks’ demonstrates exactly how the band are trapped within the genre, with it’s typical fast paced guitar work coupled with the frantic, disorganised drumming which unless you knew otherwise, you would only assume the record was made with the help of a drum machine programme. The track picks up in the latter stages, with the more mellow vocals playing over in your head, leaving you interested in where this could be going. But it’s such a short track that you never have the opportunity to see where it does go.

‘This Isn’t Fun Anymore’ starts well with the band not relying on the age old pop punk methods for the first thirty seconds or so but alas this number soon temporarily melts down into the predictable features we’re already becoming accustomed to. The band do save some face with some original sounding work coming through towards the end but once again, just when you become interested it’s all done with.

After previously displaying promising signs of showing some integrity, it certainly doesn’t pull through in the two tracks that follow. Not only that but ‘We Bleed Rainbows’ and ‘Vamos!’ are possibly the least strong tracks on the EP vocally. I suppose on the plus side, at least this gives some of us hope that anyone can make music and be in a band right?

After the eleven second predictability that is the fifth ‘song’ on this release we are left with what is possibly the strongest song on the release with strong gang vocals to end on. As the EP rings out to the repeating line “I’ve got this town down to a science”, you’re sure to be repeating that line for many days ahead. It’s a disappointing EP as a whole which leaves you more frustrated than anything after hearing what the band are capable of in the strong final track.

2/5

'MMIX' by Handguns is available now.

Handguns on MySpace

Thomas Smith