Trashed Ambulance – ‘Blurry Thoughts’ In Review.

Trashed Ambulance – Red Dear, Alberta, Canada.

Punk music is going through something of a resurgence across it’s broad spectrum.

The genre’s original trailblazers are still revered and rightly so, but what we are seeing now is huge boost in the scene’s output, sitting closer to the late 80’s and 90’s sound, from old-school and tuneful Pop-Punk, to shredded melodic Skate Punk and beyond.

Those who grew up with Guttermouth, Good Riddance, Bad Religion, Pennywise, No Use For A Name and countless more filling their rebellious little ear cavities, are now in their own bands, playing what they loved back then and live in the now.

Which is where Trashed Ambulance come in…

\\Blurry Thoughts//

Starting with a title track (of sorts) is always a gamble and so is life by the sounds of it. ‘Blurry’ is a song of realisation and regret – ‘I wish I could say I didn’t deserve it this time‘ is a haunting line, with it’s bedfellow ‘I wish I could say I didn’t have it coming to me‘ is just as hard hitting, only because it prompts a very admitting sigh from most.

Musically, fast and raspy Skate Punk that’s been done is your partner for this tale, but that shouldn’t be held as criticism, as it holds the “quirks” that makes a lot of Canadian Punk-Rock appealing.

The gang vocals take more of prominent role on ‘Delinquent’, which suits the more mid-tempo approach that has it’s nods to the likes of NOFX and Guttermouth, with its sing-a-long chorus.

‘Snake’ is very Guttermouth, as influence from the Huntingdon Beach jokers is clear but what also clear, again, is that Canadian “quirk”. ‘Scratch’ follows suit with it’s driven, bouncy Rock n’ Roll bassline and 90’s melodics. The band attempt to bring in a dual vocal approach with this one, which is a nice change up, but sadly struggles to stand on it’s own two feet.

‘Dust Buster’ sent me back to MF features and fellow Canadians Newschooled and personal favourites Hey Mister! Skate Punk has a knack in producing fast, melodic and punchy numbers, with such invigorating vocal and guitar melodies and chord progressions that all you want to do is fist pump and track five does exactly that.

The darker melodies and more driven sound actually allows for the dual vocals this time to stand rather than fall in a track I was waiting for.

‘Decay’ and it’s opening bass-line almost lead you to expect Ska, but instead another up-beat slice of chant-laden vocal work and playful guitars awaits you. It’s nothing to write home about but it’s solid enough to maintain the pace of the album.

‘Sell Out’ speeds it all up again, with a welcome Pop-Punk leaning intro before more playful Punk-grit and strong gang chants. ‘Smelly Business’ then breaks in sounding like a cross between the Bouncing Souls and No Use For A Name.

In true 90’s Punk style, ‘Lawn Dart’ is your stupid fast one just to fill a gap, most Punk releases have something like this, a track you can neither like or dislike.

‘Boring’ is a candidate for a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Soundtrack in it’s obnoxious old-school Pop-Punk,  sat somewhere between the Descendents, Sum 41 and MxPx. Then you have ‘Trashed’ and its stumbling chug that sit’s nearer to Dillinger Four, which like the previous track, shows that Trashed Ambulance’s sound may be inspired by the legends but sometimes sits closer to home.

The penultimate track also nods towards Dillinger Four and there is no problem in that, the Skate Punk sound is dropped for the most part in favour of scrappy, trashed Punk-Rock “in the pit” grit.

‘Instant’ is a great way to end. It’s nothing like the rest of the album, save its humour and strained Canadian vocals. I’ll let you judge this one.

Blurry Thoughts isn’t perfect and Trashed Ambulance have some creases to iron, but have managed to land a strong and unrelenting debut release via what they love and that’s what this whole thing is about.

Follow the links for all your trashy medical needs:

• Find Trashed Ambulance on Facebook and Instagram.
• The bands music can be found on Spotify for streaming.
• Find Trashed Ambulance on bandcamp for hard copy CDs and digital downloads.
• Digital versions can also be found via Google Play and iTunes.

#StayFresh