Where We Belong – Blisterhead
Long standing punkrockers Blisterhead have released their new album Where We Belong, their sixth album to date. Now the band have joined the Sunny Bastards label and are looking at something like a small reboot.
Blisterhead has never been afraid to change up their sound a bit, as on Under the City Lights with its more pop-punk sound, or their flirt with hardcore on the EP Bad Blood. This time they’re going back to the roots though, incorporating influences from bands such as US Bombs, Rancid and The Briggs to mention a few. Classic punkrock that is.
Those influences can be heard clearly in Holy Moly to take an example, where the verse is very much Rancid-esque, with its talk-singing. But the hardcore-influences can also be heard in some songs, bringing in an aggressiveness that breaks up the tempo, and Up the Cross takes inspiration from horror-punk in the verses before breaking out into classic punkrock in the chorus. You can clearly hear that the band had a blast recording these songs, and that energy is infectious.
Voice of a Generation, another Swedish punkrock-band that took down the sign about the same time Blisterhead picked up speed, had a theme writing songs for the odd people out there. In the same vein, Blisterhead have always written music for the misfits and small town rebels. Being from a small town in Sweden has shaped this band, and these themes can be heard on this album as well, songs like Where We Belong and The Wild One carry this banner forth.
But you can also hear a band that has grown up, getting into their forties, and sees the world in a different light, and calls for everyone to wake up and take a fight. El Diablo which I think is about our current prime minister because of the reference to his broken promise to a holocaust-survivor, and Cheerio to the World about Trump, shows a band more politically aware than ever. Wake Up and Red Light about breaking free from the conformity, taking a fight and freeing oneself from the daily routine respectively. Not The Living Not The Dead about breaking free from capitalism and materialism. All of this is Blisterhead showing their amplitude in writing in a really nice way.
There are some really catchy songs on here, I’ve had Holy Moly in my head for a week now, but also some songs that perhaps don’t get stuck in the same way. The A-side, or the first half depending on the format, is a bit stronger in my ears. The b-side has a trio of songs in a row that perhaps don’t leave a lasting impression, but are far from bad songs.
On Where We Belong Blisterhead have created an album that is fun to listen to, despite the very serious topics being delivered. That combination is always a win for me. The writing is really good and it feels like the band are coming out with a renewed energy, ready to conquer the world, but starting with Sweden and Germany.