Press Club – Wasted Energy

Punk | Alternative Rock

83%

It feels like only yesterday that I was reviewing Press Club’s debut album, and now they’re back again already with the follow up. Despite Late Teens catching me completely off-guard and proving to be one of the best records of the year thus far, I was a little worried about a second album appearing in my inbox so soon after the first. Not only is the second outing notoriously treacherous, it can prove doubly so when it’s rushed out to capitalise on the buzz and keep it going. I’m a big advocate of artists taking all the time they need to perfect their art. For these Aussie punks it’s apparently not very long. It perhaps could have done with a little fine tuning, but there’s no denying that Wasted Energy stands tall and proud.

This new offering isn’t as hook driven as its predecessor. There are a couple of good examples to be found; in the first half of ‘Separate Houses’, on album highlight ‘Obsessing’, and the chorus of ‘Chosen Ones’ which gives the record its title; but as a whole they’re nowhere near as prevalent. Wasted Energy makes up for this by skirting ever closer to chaos. This already wild outfit has taken their “pedal to the metal” approach up a notch to the point where you wonder how they keep some of the songs from spiralling into disaster. This high octane thrill ride of a record is like bungee jumping to within arm’s length of the ground and giving it a playful tap, before being launched back upwards into another exhilarating adventure.

The band truly come at this record all guns blazing to keep it thundering onward. The fierce frenetic drumming that was the main highlight of the first record is every bit as mind blowing here too. The bass is given the chance to really shine on ‘I’m in Hell’, the guitar solo on ‘Behave’ sounds like the most melodious exorcism you ever heard, and frontwoman Nat Foster attacks each track like a war cry before charging into battle. Their zeal does prove to be a bit of a double edged sword at times though. All these adrenaline fueled bangers make the few filler tracks like ‘Thinking About You’ and ‘Same Mistakes’ feel all the more deflating. It doesn’t quite dethrone Late Teens, but this new record has exceeded my expectations. It may still be early days, but thus far it seems Press Club never cease to surprise me.