Burning Fiction – Contrasts

Contrasts is the latest offering from Australian pop punk quintet Burning Fiction, this is the follow up to their 2012 EP The Story Will Continue. This is the sound of a band treading a well worn path. There are elements of power pop and punk, both of which are played with a melodic style, the subject matter is largely based around love and hanging out, does this sound familiar? It should, because it’s become the template for pretty much every pop punk band out there. There is nothing wrong with this album, it’s just that you get deja vu when listening to it, it’s reminiscent of so many other bands that you can easily forget exactly who you’re listening to.

There isn’t a bad track on this album, then again there isn’t an outstanding track either. I would have no complaints if someone played this album, but if you asked me a few hours later to recall something specific about it, I would seriously struggle. This the problem with a lot of pop punk, there is a plethora of bands out there creating similar albums, covering similar subjects and even wearing similar shorts. The whole beauty of punk was it’s diversity and energy, and I sometimes feel those qualities are being lost.

Contrasts is an odd choice of title for this album, when you consider that it pretty much doesn’t have any, the ten tracks of power pop punk are all pleasant enough but they just don’t stick with you, I’ve played the album twice whilst writing this review and I’m struggling to remember what I thought, and I’m off into my third run through. This might sound like I’m being unusually harsh about an album with no obvious flaws, and that’s not my intention. Burning Fiction clearly have talent and ability, but they need to stamp their own identify onto their material to avoid being just another pop punk band amongst the herd.

You can purchase Contrasts Here