Does anybody else feel like the inisistence that Ryan Ross and John Walker’s split from Panic! at The Disco was friendly is a blatant lie?

Both Panic! and Ryan and John’s new band The Young Veins recently released new songs who’s titles allude to band friction. Panic!’s ‘New Perspective’ is far more reiniscent of their debut effort than their last release, so this ‘New Perspective’ could be an attack at Ryan and John.

On the flipside The Young Veins’s ‘Change’ of Pretty. Odd. and laments ‘Some people never change’. Whether referring to his old bandmates or himself, it’s clear that all was not so accepting when Ryan handed in his P45.

But in the end the personal side of the band is secondary to the music, and both of these tunes are crackers. It’s unfortunate however that neither track quite lives up to what the band has previously written. Change is too vague to be engaging and New Perspective spends too long wallowing in a chorus that was written for radio-play and little else. Despite this both tracks are listenable and as far as first songs go, it could have been a lot worse.

Oh I’ve been finding it hard sleeping
In a bed that’s constantly creaking
And my thoughts are always seeping
As well as morals I should be keeping

But it’ll be fine
Because by every rhyme
I slowly bore myself to sleep.

I’m on the road outside
Wearing my getaway clothes
I’m slithering through the darkness
I’m slithering through the woods
Walking on tiptoes

And that’s when you call

I’m on the path right next
To the supermarket we spent those days
Buying the funniest sounding energy drinks
To drink our sorrows away
Before we discovered the magic of the bottle
The magic of the bottle

And that’s when you call

But why can’t I live?
Why can’t I take the sunlight shown to me?

I’m staring at my phone
Checking the numbers I called drunk and desperate
With 141 and a silent tone
They all fear me now
Shunned by all my friends
I sit alone and ponder
While I change my state of mind
With the help of my white friends

And that’s when you call

To take me out this fucking slumber
And bring reality crashing back to me

I’m standing on the rooftop
There can be no room for regrets now

To hear your voice cut through the silence
I hope is enough for me
Because I’m two steps from ruin
From where this all began

And that’s when you call

But this could be my moment
This could be the end that I desire so bad

    Since I joined a forum named ‘Punkdisasters’ back in 2007, I’ve had the fortune of being able to watch the meteoric rise of an Australian band named For Our Hero. I can quite clearly remember reading Beau Taplin’s lyrics for the first time and realising that this band was going places fast.

   And so that all culminates in the band’s first release, the 5-track EP ‘Threw The Looking Glass’. From the spiky opening guitar riff and half-time drumbeat of ‘Bez, Knows The Score’ the band’s mission is initially clear. This is hearts-on-sleave stuff, in the vein of modern pop-punk acts a la Fall Out Boy. In fact many comparisons could be made to Patrick Stump in Jay Taplin’s delivery; the soulful crooning of ‘Put tickets on me I’ll only keep’em to fly us home’ on ‘Curtain Calls on Walkabouts’ is lightyears ahead of the All Time Low crowd, yet sits comfortably with them. And that’s what makes For Our Hero a rare thing in this modern age - A punk-influenced band with a talented singer. Elsewhere Leon Blair sprawls melodic guitar solos that stay the right side of pretention, especially on the hearfelt ‘Here’s Looking At You Kid’. Bassist Geoff Taylor and drummer Nathan Vee work well together to give songs such as ‘Tell’em They’re Dreaming’ a relentless rhythm that pays homage to, but never fully plagiarises Green Day. However, it’s closer ‘Mister Prozac’ where it all comes together. Beau Taplin’s tales of heartbreak and failure in the music business never sound as genuine as in the finale and the guitar work of Dave Tran and Leon Blair is simple yet effective, culminating in the band’s finest work so far, and leaving the listener begging for more.

Lyrics: 9/10
Musicianship: 6/10
Songwriting: 8/10
Vocals: 8/10
Production: 7/10

Overall: 7/10

Recommended Tracks: Mister Prozac, Here’s Looking At You Kid

- Mat Carter

Hope you enjoy it.