Deadlines and The Forthcoming ‘End Of History’.
Deadlines – Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
For our previous work on the band – Click Here.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Deadlines but with a new full-length set for May 11th of this year, now is as good a time as any. The Cardiff based (in their own words) ‘Aggro Pop-Punk’ three piece are getting under the covers with Circle House Records to release End Of History and ahead of time have given MF a first look at their cathartic and distorted Punk-Rock.
The term Pop-Punk is quite fooling with this band as despite an obvious penchant for melody and some of the light-hearted-isms so common within the classics of the genre, Deadlines are far better ear-nutrients for those inclined towards the likes of Fugazi, Dag Nasty, Lifetime, Hot Water Music, Jawbreaker and Off With Their Heads than they are New Found Glory.
‘Disengage’ enters the arena with heavily subdued and low bass-tones juxtaposed by the band’s melodic but Post-Hardcore-led guitar tone and if you didn’t know better could have been pulled from any those classic early Hot Water Music albums. The thoughtful ‘Six Years’ then follows with notable backing vocals over 90’s Punk distorted by the previous decade.
Photo credit: Katie Harrington Photography – Click Here.
‘Guano’ is harder and faster despite the upbeat guitar-tone so common to Deadlines as it rumbles jaggedly along. Here the band seem sonically closer to Lifetime as said upbeat tone deliberately allows the seriousness of the band’s honest lyricisms to explain this End Of History they speak of.
Deadlines are fuzzy and distorted but melodic and playful in all the right places and with ‘Guano’ they show some of their best to date. ‘Credit Meter’ echoes the 80’s and 90’s Punks who played with a little more emotion post-Embrace and Fugazi while ‘Comb’ crosses melodic Skate Punk with more and indeed welcome Hot Water Music-isms.
‘Surplus’ channels their self-labelled Pop-Punk stylings while vocally the thick rage-filled but in-control vocals allow a frustrated band to get their point across. ‘Surplus’ despite being the product of a three-piece layers the band’s gruff-Punk sound in a way again akin to the progressive-Punk years.
‘Gulf’ merges the band’s buzz-saw guitars and chugging stop-starts in a way reminiscent just enough of early Fugazi to perfectly encapsulate the way in which the seminal Post-Hardcore band have influenced so many down the line. It is here that Deadlines utilise a more dual-vocal approach that not only suits them immensely but should really be more a part of their repertoire.
End Of History is a record that flows well. However with that said, although the tracks are admittedly very cohesive to the band’s chosen style, they quite skillfully for the most part just about avoid sounding all-too similar. They achieve this quite impressively through their quality. Deadlines are skilled musicians, they have done their homework and as songwriters go, very-well capture the spirit of Punk-Rock from the then to the now all very relevantly.
In fact by the time you get to the final of the two forerunning tracks teasing us before release, you will likely take a long sigh and smile at what is effective proof of the strength of the UK Punk and alternative scene.
In short, if heartfelt, cathartic and honest Punk-Rock with enough weight behind it to balance the emotion is your thing, pre-order this album.
Find Them:
- Social Media/Updates: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
- Music: bandcamp, Spotify.
- Circle House Records: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, bandcamp, Limited Run.
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