Whatever happened to punk? One minute it was a spitting, anarchic, rebellious teenager screaming anger, hatred, boredom and bile in the face of monarchy, government and society; next thing it’s twenty-two years later and punks like Severe Zero are apparently complaining about the crap music on the radio. From feral howl to corporate grumbler in such a short space of time is pathetic.
Welcome, then, to Severe Zero (and, believe me, you’re welcome to them). In “Silence On The Radio” - a highly structured, overly produced, punk-sized two and a half minutes - the band manage to outstay their tune by, ooh, at least a minute and a half. This sounds positively prog rock in its time and tempo changes but all rolled into a very short running time.
Comparisons are useless in this genre but if Sum 41 or the Offspring had buried B-sides before release they might sound as whiny as this. Severe Zero (what a terrible name) follow in the footsteps of giants but seem to be tip-toeing through punk on their way towards something else.
“Silence On The Radio” whinges about radio station airplay, but if this proficiently played tedious noise is what Severe Zero believe to be the alternative then give me Radio 3 any day. At least Stockhausen is memorably challenging. Severe Zero are just bland - and that’s criminal for a self-proclaimed punk band.
Silence on the radio is preferable. Be honest, you saw that coming…
Related articles:
Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: prog, punk, Severe Zero, Silence On The Radio
