When a band’s got two exclamation points in its name, you shouldn’t be expecting introspective, acoustic stuff, and Bang! Bang! live up to their name with a disc of aggressive, neo-punk songs that have a great rhythmic edge, but can be exhausting, even with the album’s short running time.
The initial salvo, “What We Need,” is a hypercompressed burst of rock energy. It’s a little over two minutes, almost every track on here conforms to the aggressive three minute rock song model. “Prefab Nation” brings in some keyboards, and the group’s female vocalist, Gretta Fine which distinguishes them from a lot of other neo-punk acts. Her softer vocals are a great contrast with the aggression of the male vocalist, Jackie Flash. I’m a big electropop fan, and this track bridges the gap between bands like Goldfrapp or Annie and punk. Instead of mixing the synth with pop, they mix it with punk, making something unique.
“She Came From Outer Space” has a spoken word drawl that’s reminiscent of classic Patti Smith songs, like “Land.” In general, the songs with female vocals are much stronger than the ones with male, because the male vocals sound like countless other neopunk vocalists, while the juxtaposition of female vocals with the harsh instrumentation creates something we haven’t heard as much, particularly recently. "I Could Die" is another great, moody track, that slows things down and just lets you inhabit the moment of the song. But, I'm sure much of the band's core audience dislikes these slower songs and wants to get back to the aggression of "What We Need."
It’s a comedown when we transition from the weird, cool “Outer Space” to the more generic “All Messed Up.” There’s still some nice surf guitar sound on “Messed Up,” but the song isn’t something that sticks with you when it’s over. “Loaded Questions” uses both vocalists, and the mix works well. I always like bands with multiple vocalists, the interplay between differing voices can turn an average song into something great.
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