Beat Union – Disconnected

Science Records isn’t a label with a solid background. Relatively new in the game, the label jumped onto the scene with a few big bands like Greeley Estates and Blessthefall. Unfortunately, those bands tend to appeal to a certain style of people and I am not one of those people. It made it fairly easy to knock off the label as a group of people just trying to cash in on the current trend. That’s why I was so surprised to see that Birmingham’s Beat Union‘s debut album Disconnected was released on Science Records; not only that, but it was also produced by Goldfinger‘s John Feldmann. It made me think that maybe both Feldmann and Science Records are trying to expand their repertoire.

Unlike Greeley Estates or Blessthefall, Beat Union are not your like your current Warped Tour mainstays. They aren’t your uber polished, whiny and generic emo act. They aren’t like Feldmann’s breakthrough acts either as they’re the complete opposite of The Used or Story of The Year. Instead, Disconnected leans on a more classical punk rock style as they use elements of Elvis Costello and The Clash as the basis of their song structure but with a modern element in it akin to The Matches to bring it into the twenty first century.

The songs on Disconnected, other than normally following a lyrical direction that sees them using telephone imagery in almost every second metaphor, feature a distinctly produced sound that borrows equally from the British explosion of the early eighties as it does from the today’s alt-rockers. Throughout the record, the vocals sound like Shawn Harris with a English accent be it when they’re singing enthusiastically as in the aforementioned Dancing In Our Sleep, singing with a stronger Costello influence like they do on She Is The Gun or slowing it down a bit on All My Own. Many of the songs feature a thick bass line that give them a sort of reggae sensation with pop-punk punch. My Heart Starts Beating brings up some new wave elements as they use a keyboard as part of the driving melody of the track. Don’t Have Love also has that new wave feel to it due in part to the keyboard but also the mass amount of hi-hats used in the song. Dancing In Our Sleep is a fun alt-rock song that would sound equally as relevant blasting out of a pub’s jukebox or alongside The Matches‘ E. Von Dahl Killed The Locals.

Beat Union have created a surprisingly entertaining debut album, and a record very unlikely to be released by Science Records. Songs like Jonny Loves Jojo, Disconnected and Calling are all worth a listen and a repeat as they are fun, danceable, and slightly nostalgic but with enough modern day influences to sound fresh. The record fumbles however due to a slight lack in memorability. The songs are unique enough to stand out in the crowd but I fear they won’t be strong enough to stand the test of time. That, at the end of the day, is Disconnected‘s biggest downfall and could make Beat Union fade into obscurity.