Chaser – Sound The Sirens

Orange County skate-punks Chaser have been keeping 90’s melodic punk alive since 2002.  They’re part of an “echo” generation of punkers that sprung up shortly after that scene started to wind down, and bands like Pennywise began getting replaced with the likes of Every Time I Die on the Warped Tour stage.  Throughout the past couple of decades, Chaser has never compromised on their values, consistently releasing nostalgia-laced melodic punk rock without feeling dated or forced.  Their latest full length, Sound The Sirens, adds further stock to this direction.

The album was co-released through Dying Scene Records, an offshoot of the prolific punk news site of the same name, so the album’s down to earth approach should come as no surprise given the high praise of EpiFat-style content from the community.  Opener “The Uprising” is an indivoratign mission statement, with the band belting feverishly, “we need this uprising,” amidst a slew of ideological justifications based upon the current state of American politics.  The aforementioned quick-paced skate-punk vibe fits the content like a glove, and ushers in a set of expectations that the band easily meets thereon out.  The band commands a keen understanding of how to leverage vocal harmonies and backing “woah-oah”-style choruses.  Tracks like “At What Cost” spiral into heated salvos of rapidfire drumming, overlayed with melodic but forceful vocals that build a strong imagery of corporate greed and deception in lines like, “box the American dream, sell it to the poor.”  Chaser has the big chorus, harmony heavy formula down, with songs like “Nightmares,” “Bonfire,” and “Wars” hammering their message home with a combination of gang vocals and passionate cries.

“The Show” is a particularly curious aside, as the band takes a short break from social and political topics, to express their adoration and commitment to their genre.  “Punk is here to stay,” shouts the band as they gush over career highlights sharing the stage overseas with Felony and Electric Turtle (the latter of which I’m not familiar with), and fond memories of camaraderie and cohesion within the scene back at Warped Tour 98’.  Despite changing times, the band announces their intent to “stay forever this way,” essentially promising fans that they’ll be around until the band members turn old and grey.

Chaseris and has always been the band they are today.  Their very existence is a love letter to a decade that they just narrowly missed being a part of, and in that regard they have always been true to themselves.  Sound The Sirens doesn’t break any new ground, nor does it profess to.  But Chaser wears that distinction as a badge of honour, and revels in the indulgence that comes with that territory.  A shoe-in for fans of 90’s skate-punk looking for something new to raise their fist with and sing along to.