I’ve always been a sucker for melodic punk rock. Nothing warms my heart like a catchy tune full of hooks set to a sea of happily groaning guitars, slamming drums and grunting bass. When The Finest Hour‘s debut, ‘These Are the Good Old Days’, came up for review and I heard the opening song ‘She’d Never Heard of Dylan’ I jumped at the chance to review what I hoped would turn out to be a little gem. And I can so clearly hear the joy and sweat, the persistence and dedication of these four lads from Grimsby. Playing their fingers to the bone, touring their butts off, scraping together their pennies to buy gear, and finally have all their hard work rewarded by the release of their debut CD. And…I like it, but I don’t love it. And I really, really wanted to love it…You see, I totally BELIEVE this band. I BELIEVE they mean what they sing and play. That’s saying a lot in these cynical days of marketing ploys and hype building. Youthful exuberance and idealism practically jumps out of the speakers on every song, and that’s how it should be. I’m 100% sure they’re amazing live. Then why the disappointment? My impression is that The Finest Hour falls victim to their own best intentions. Playing, vocals, recording, production-everything is just right, almost note perfect. But rock’n’roll , certainly punk rock, was never about ‘perfection’. I find myself longing for the happy accident, the bum note, the hoarse scream of a singer whose voice is almost shot, an unexpected sound coming out of left field, or even just a slightly different take on the genre, and it never comes. The production and recording kind of play it safe, walking well-tread ground sonically and musically. That’s a shame because it prevents this record from being really great instead of just ‘good’.
Reservations aside, ‘These Are the Good Old Days’ is a very enjoyable record, with plenty of tasty guitar playing, immaculate production, and excellent song writing. A special treat is the vocal tandem of Paul Kavanagh and Rob Bywater, taking turns singing verses, then harmonizing beautifully during the choruses, each one more catchy than the last. The guitars grumble and groan with that blissful fuzzed-out distortion that gives you a kick in the gut and a tingle down your spine.
A few songs clearly jump out from the rest.
‘She’d Never Heard of Dylan’ is a great opener, pulling you in from the very first power chord, with a catchy title and a cool short story-type narrative to boot.
‘Calvery Road’ is perhaps my favorite, a punk rock anthem with a ‘reach for the sky’ chorus worthy of Flogging Molly or the Pogues. ‘Reasons to Complain’ is a close second, with a chorus possibly even more relentlessly catchy, over a ringing wash of droning early U2-like guitars.
‘Control’ is a dramatic minor key piece, full of power and melancholy, carried along by tasty lead playing.
The exception for me are the two ska based songs, that I honestly don’t care for. Ska is a pretty iffy genre to begin with. When done well (as by the Slackers from NYC ) it can be exhilarating and refreshing, even brilliant, but there’s the rub: there’s a lot more to ska than ‘chunka chunka’ guitars, and done poorly, ska is just, well, annoying, and personally I think The Finest Hour would do well to drop this particular genre from their musical stew. Plus, the horns on ‘Pocket Change’ sound, to my ears at least, like a bunch of ducks with a cold.
Minor quibble for this otherwise excellent record, which truly ends with a bang, on the epic ‘Indigo Night‘, a 15 minute opus that shows just how on top of their game The Finest Hour is. The music ebbs and flows beautifully, building towards a climax, then quieting down to a whisper, only to start building again and explode into yet another irresistible chorus. Another calm-before-the-storm interlude segues into what sounds like a second song, nicely showing off the songwriting skills of The Finest Hour with some surprising melodic and harmonic twists, leading us into a prolonged instrumental chorus with guitars that are at once powerful, sad and melodic. A fitting ending for an energetic, confident and ambitious debut from four talented guys from Grimsby.
[Rating:3.5]
