Album Review: Templeton Pek - Scratches and Scars

Templeton Pek explode back onto the scene with their relentless sophomore album entitled 'Scratches and Scars'. 'Scratches and Scars' is a nearly perfect, action packed thrill ride through the punk/hardcore/post hardcore genres that will keep listeners begging for more.

'Scratches and Scars' is packed with quality tracks that will sate listeners’ craving for quality punk music. With tracks that run the gamut from straight forward punk to post hardcore brilliance, the record never gets repetitive over the course of the 12 tracks. Album opener ‘Calculate This Risk’ gets the energy going and never lets up. ‘Calculate’ is a great track that combines punk sensibilities with a huge chorus that will have listeners singing along by chorus #2. ‘Headgames’ follows up ‘Calculate’ with a straight ahead, punk anthem that keeps the album rolling for the brilliantly implemented ‘Barriers’.

‘Barriers’ is a perfect summation of the record as a whole. This track opens up with a super catchy riff that drives the song along, Neal Mitchell’s soaring vocals in an unbelievably awesome chorus, and super tight instrumentation that holds it all together. This track kept me coming back again and again. It should also be mentioned that the band produced the record themselves, and did excellent work on that front.

Other spectacular tracks from the record include: ‘Fiction Burn’, ‘Dark Matter’, ‘Red Lights Flash’, and album closer ‘Slow Burn’. There’s really not a bad track in the bunch, and the album as a whole kept this listener engaged for the full length of the record (which is fairly substantial at about 44 minutes.)

There’s something special about a record that can take all the elements that listeners enjoy from iconic bands, mix them together, and create a product that feels both familiar and fresh all at once. 'Scratches and Scars' did that for this listener, and will be a wholly enjoyable experience for punk, hardcore, and post hardcore fans alike.

4.5/5

'Scratches and Scars' by Templeton Pek is available now through Small Town Records/Pyro Pit Records/Long Beach Records.

Official Website
Templeton Pek on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

Landon Peterson