An eponymously-titled album is usually reserved for a debut, or at a moment of rebirth, and in the case of Bay Area Punks Grumpster, it was definitely the latter. Just a cursory listen to their third long-player (unsurprisingly called Grumpster) will tell you that this is a band reborn and rejuvenated, not that there was any danger of them becoming stale, you understand. Yet, there’s an undeniable spring in the band’s step that makes this album a buoyant beast, and one that’s built for the long haul.
Readers of the Midlands Rocks will probably recognise San Francisco’s Bay Area as a hotbed of thrash metal, yet it also has a thriving punk scene and the brightest propagators are undoubtedly Grumpster. Formed in 2017, this crew have drawn favourable comparisons with Green Day and Operation Ivy, but make no mistake, they’re no mere copyists and opening shot ‘Wither’ couldn’t belong to anyone else. It’s hard and punchy, but comes liberally soaked in melody which awards it instant earworm status. The guitars ring like warning sirens, the vocals are suitably snotty, while the drums beat a strange tattoo on your chest.
With only a few of the eleven cuts breaking the three-minute mark, Grumpster never hang around long enough to bore us (yet they still find time for a catchy chorus). But don’t mistake the band’s parred-back aesthetic for genericism; there’s plenty of variety on offer here with ‘Just For Fun’ certain to become a skate punk classic and the following ‘SSBpt2’ tailor made for a rowdy gig and demands that 100 souls sing along and is sure to instigate many a pile on when played live. Grumpster is an album that proudly shows off all the band’s various facets, and the delight is serves up is in not knowing where they’ll veer next.
There’s a lyrical honesty to each of these tracks which creates an instant connection with the listener, and one that cuts deep and no more so that on the closing couplet ‘Bone$’ and ‘Waste’ (the latter with a distinctly American Football vibe). In fact, such is the relationship you’ll build with this album, that you’ll feel a little sad as it reaches its conclusion, but don’t worry; you’ll soon be hitting ‘play’ again.
- Grumpster is released via Pure Noise Records on 26th April 2024.
Track List:
- Wither
- Just For Fun
- SSBpt2
- Sun
- Bern Needs His Meds
- Bottom Feeder
- Grey
- Thorns
- Bran’s Motto
- Bone$
- Waste
