ALBUM: For Ages ARTIST: Carb on Carb
If all you need today are some feels and a trip down pop punk lane, then the brand new album 'For Ages' from Kiwi duo (and honorary Aussies) Carb on Carb will charm you with its emotive resilience and fluent beats.
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For a genre so connected to heartbreak and youthful angst, there's always a danger of dubious lyrics and forced stylistic choices - but Carb on Carb (aka Nicole Gaffney and James Stutely) have manouvered their emo-tinted sounds into a cathartic outing, with smooth guitars, hooky as hell choruses and enough elongated vocals to remind us that this is a punk-ish affair.
Across ten tracks we delve deeper and deeper into what is clearly a profoundly personal album for the pair, covering the unique hurdles for a band of colour competing in the local industry ('Man Says') as well as the experiences that hit as you try to maneuver life from a teen to an adult ('Nicole's Express', 'Annual Leave').
'NICOLE'S EXPRESS' (CARB ON CARB)
While there isn't a large amount of fluctuation sound-wise throughout 'For Ages', the constant flow of jangly riffs and punchy beats, plus the vocal fusion between Gaffney and Stutely perfectly perches over the distortion and the rumination - and it's overall an album that leaves you feeling oddly more upbeat about life in general.
For anyone who grew up loving the stylings of Dashboard Confessional or the more low-key Blink-182 and the like, 'For Ages' will definitely hit the spot from an act that are capably flying the modern emo punk flag.
'FOR AGES' IS OUT IN THE WORLD NOW, FOR MORE INFO HEAD TO:
BY TIANA SPETER