Such Strange Arts – Waking Up The Neighbours

I can remember a time when I would have latched onto bands like Essex pop-punk act Such Strange Arts.  They were a simpler time when I was just finishing up high school and I thought the world was out to get me.  Listening to bands I thought were punk rock like Simple Plan, I gravitated towards lyrics about going unnoticed, girls looking past me, and the type of first world problems that plagued a kid looking for identity in mass consumerism (remember when you used to think lyrics like “I’m just a kid, and life is a nightmare,” were insightful?).  Nowadays, bands like 5 Seconds Of Summer and All Time Low appeal to the adolescent woes of the modern generation.  Such Strange Arts falls in line with this simplistic brand of bubblegum, heartthrob pop-punk, and will likely land on the playlists of teens that will later regretfully admit their prior fandom when they have long since moved on.

As such, Such Strange Arts play it safe in their songwriting, ensuring that each of the five songs on their latest EP, Waking The Neighbours, is simple and self-contained.  Opener “Criminal” kicks off with the type of easygoing chords that lend themselves the themes of a night of youthful exploits.  Nothing hits with much urgency, and they deliver the message through a mostly harmless combination of sing-song vocals and predictable mid tempo chords.  “Tonight it’s you and me, forget the world and live in magazines,” sings frontman Jake in a schoolboy-esque manner, detailing visions of laying under the night stars after house party hook-ups.  The rest of the album follows suit, painting a picture of life in the juvenile lane.  “Figure It Out” and the title track hop along jovially with pitchy vocals in an appeal to all the kids trying to find their identity in heartbreak.  The most interesting song of the bunch, “Sextual Relations,” incorporates a number of iPhone messenger sounds along with a vague story of text-based relationships, breakups, and how the kids these days hide behind technology to avoid making big decisions in person.  An easy appeal to the social media generation.

That isn’t to say the EP is all bad.  At the very least, Such Strange Arts avoid the pitfalls of autotune and excessive electronics.  Their simplistic formula relies on straight-forward albeit well-intended musicianship.  Are they trying too hard?  As heard with the lone album closing piano ballad, “Stay,” the answer is a painfully obvious yes.  Waking The Neighbours will appeal to a certain audience, but as that audience grows and matures, they likely won’t stick around for more than an album or two.  Much like All Time Low, Such Strange Arts banks on the principle that there will always be an up and coming generation of angsty, disenfranchised teens waiting for someone to speak their feelings as they experience them for the first time.  The rest of us can happily pass on by knowing that we moved on many years ago.