Chaser – Accion

B-sides from a great recording session are kind of like left-overs from a great meal.  They’re no where near as elaborate or well presented as the fine cuisine you just gobbled up, but their memory and simple association with that great plate satisfy the craving and memory of the past meal.  Similarly, punk group Chaser’s seminal full-length The Big Picture enticed me over future output, so the release of their b-side heavy EP Accion spoke to that after-the-fact craving.

Much like The Big Picture, Accion plays off the strength of quick melodic skate-punk with a modern, metallic edge.  As a whole, Chaser adheres to a lineage of No Use For A Name with a healthy respect for contemporary Strung Out.  Guitarist’s Nate Warner and Blake Kardashianand maintain a steady rhythm enhanced by all sorts of stylized extras, and Josh Millican’s unyielding drum beat commands control of an insightfully fluctuating tempo.  The strongest track is actually the EP’s final b-side, “In The Veins.”  The song’s instantly catchy battle cry to under class action has been done before, so the band skillfully relies on their guitars to do the talking.  Likewise, “Awake’s” short minute-spanning run-time packs a powerful punch with wave upon wave of accompanying gang-boosted “woahs.”

However, like any leftovers from a fantastic meal, they never quite reach the same mouth-watering indulgence as the meticulously arranged, freshly served plate.  As it turns out, most of Accion’s cuts come across slightly less direct than their main course counterparts.  While melodies retain their essential catchiness, they offer a bit less punch.  Opener and translated title track “Action” for instance feels comparably dilute to the highs we’ve seen Chaser achieve in the past.  It’s a solid song, but would have comparably served as filler on The Big Picture.

Most notably, the EP’s two stripped down tracks contain moments of slight restraint.  The album’s first original acoustic song,  “Take This Shot” works fairly well during its “na na na na” chorus to verse transition, but as happens later in the acoustic rendition of old favourite “Status,” the backing vocalists seem almost hesitant.  “There’s, no –” chimes the band meekly before Mike LeDonne pipes up strongly to complete the sentence “–where to find a better world;” their collective voices a far cry from that of the original full band track.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to hear the band testing their talents under an acoustic setting, but they have some work left in completing the translation.

So in the end, Accion‘s collective batch of b-sides and acoustic experiments serve as a solid reminder to The Big Picture’s bang-on melodic punk brilliance without ever reaching it first hand.  But as far as leftovers go, I’m happy to have had the chance for a second helping from the The Big Picture’s recording sessions.  Overall though, Accion should satisfy fans until they until they can sink their teeth intoChaser’s next main course.