Short Days
Direction Nowhere
*** out of *****
The Lille, France based punks, Short Days put together a pumping full length with their newest release Direction Nowhere.
The group fluctuates between influences from West Coast pop punk and harder East Coast hardcore, as the songs drift between crushing and soaring; imagine if The Offspring and The Misfits had a baby and the spirit of disaffection raised it in France you will have a decent sense of Short Day's Direction Nowhere.
Opening with "Brain Sucker" those two influences immediately are visible as the skate punk tune and crazy lyrics go hand in hand with a revving bass and cool dramatic ending. The groovy punk of "Cold In Your Bones" continues this vibe with snaking guitar and pushing/pulling tempo shifts as does the more direct "I Love Nothing/I Hate You" as well as the surf punk touches around the heavy as hell drums of "Find Me On the Floor" which also deploys a good guitar intro.
The galloping low end of "Living Outside Reality" rumbles while excellent guitar work shines through on the lighter, catchier title track and the anthemic leaning "Cockroach". The band keeps some heavy, slamming force in store though with the massive breakdown contained in "Children Of Boredom" which is by far the meatiest track on the record.
Lyrically the words can be hard to parse as (with most punk offerings) things are buried under layers of chaos, but when read, there are common themes of anger, frustration, feeling as outsiders and more being screamed out. "Kids Return" is a an ironic winner with the group offering up some gang vocals that can be shouted along to around a twangy guitar solo, as the band proves the kids are still alright.
Short Days aren't looking to reinvent any genres, just deliver a satisfying dose of punk rock and that mission is a success throughout Direction Nowhere.
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