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Review: The Vacancies - Tantrum
From Ryan Cooper,
Your Guide to Punk Music.
This was an album I was actually afraid to hear. It wasn’t because I thought I wouldn’t like it, it was because I thought I wouldn’t like it as much as the last album. Last year, when they kicked out A Beat Missing Or A Silence Added, their debut on on Blackheart Records, I was blown away by the straight-up rock assault of this Cleveland band who share tons more with the Dead Boys than just their home town. This time around, with Tantrum, I was afraid they may not be able to keep it up.
Those fears were ill-founded, leading me to once again repeat what should be my mantra: “Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna can do no wrong.� In a year that is already proving to be the best year for punk rock in quite a while, The Vacancies are making it even better.
Tantrum refuses to rest on the sound laid down A Beat Missing… Not only does it match the intensity of The Vacancies’ Blackheart debut, it takes that record, which was so good to begin with, punches it in the mouth, knocks it down, calls it names and sends it home to its mommy.
My first impression - It’s a great sign when a record offers up 14 tracks in just over 36 minutes. You’re hoping for no filler, and the album delivers… ummm… doesn’t deliver? I mean it has no filler. It does deliver no filler. It doesn’t deliver filler. Whatever.
The opening track, “Compound�, sets the stage for the entire album. It’s a 45-second assault that gets your heart rate up, and preps your ears for what you’re getting into. From then on, the ride is fast and easy.
Tantrum continues on with street punk that’s as gritty as the band’s home town, yet filled with enough musical and lyrical hooks to keep your fist pumping. From the obligatory 40-oz. street punk drinking song, “Below Merlot�, to the in-your-face anthemic antics of “Pride, to the sweet stripped-down melodic feel of “Sick Modern Era�, to the straight-up rock and roll rebellion of “Way Out�… and you know what? This is just the first five tracks!
Seriously, there is not a single track on Tantrum that misses its mark, no matter the sound the band is going for. They vary it up, taking it from street to rock, adding the occasional bits of garage-flavored riffs and snot-nosed punk attitude and never hit a slow point or a stumble.
The album wraps up with the Bouncing Souls-esque “Savior�, a tune that’s pure blue-collar melodic punk. It would be a really nice end to the album, except I have yet to end the album there. I start right back up at the beginning again.
While I will probably always be an avid devotee of Joan Jett and everything Blackheart is releasing right now, I am ever-so-thankful to Billy Crooked and the Vacancies for Tantrum, a record that proves it’s more than idle hero worship. She knows how to pick great bands, and they know how to deliver. - About.com
Discography
Gut Punch
A Beat Missing or A Silence Added
Tantrum
Photos
Bio
With the release of their new CD, Tantrum (Spring 2007), The Vacancies intend to âsteamroll over what passes for Punk todayâ.
Tantrum, their second release on Blackheart Records, blends a unique mix of punkâs many subgenres and confirms that the band is âexactly what the music industry is missing right now â raw, solid powerful bass lines and riffs combined with lyrics that are infectious, unpretentious and completely relatableâ.
With fist raising tracks like âPrideâ to socially driven songs like âSick Modern Eraâ, Tantrum takes the listener on a journey filled with melodic punk rock anthems laced with political and social overtones and pop punk sensibility. The infectious âBelow Merlotâ is infused with catchy bass lines coupled with ferocious guitar licks and packed with rich backup vocals. Tantrum is an all out must listen for todayâs punk rock fan.
Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, The Vacancies give listeners an honest and profound punk rock sound that is magnified by their high energy, high powered shows. With Billy Crookedâs snotty vocals, Michael Jamesâ dynamic guitar, Boâs driving bass line and recent additions, Dave Long on guitar and Kevin Hopkins on drums, the bandâs sound is fuller and more mature than ever.
The Vacancies have shared the stage with Social Distortion, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, The Buzzcocks, The Hives, Stiff Little Fingers, The Casualties, Rise Against, The Dwarves, Social Distortion, Flogging Molly, The Adolescents, Street Dogs, Pennywise, The Bamboozle Festival and will also be on the 2007 Warped Tour. The bandâs influences range from The Ramones, The Clash, The Stooges and The Dead Boys to The Beatles.
The Vacancies were signed by Joan Jett to Blackheart Records in 2005 and they have not looked back. Joan and Kenny Laguna produced their Blackheart debut album, A Beat Missing or a Silence Added, which was given critical praise from the likes of Alternative Press and The Boston Globe. They were selected as Best Hard Rock Album in the 6th Annual Independent Music Awards in 2007.
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