Simon Rushworth
Casey Bolles – Freshman (Pure Noise Records)
Genre: Folk Punk
Sharing similarities with fellow American folk/punks This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb, Casey Bolles delivers a vocal heavy, angry album with the aid of an acoustic guitar.
From the opening key of Potential, Casey’s vocals are the key focus of the album, with simple chord changes offering background noise more than anything.
Like the vast majority of punk music, this is an album that takes a few listens to get into and does improve with time. Whilst it does get better, vocal inconsistencies are rife throughout this record, making for a somewhat frustrating listen, with the album’s journey and purpose unclear.
Punk is a genre that takes the problems of the world and screams back at the man, but Casey seems like a lost boy in New York missing his friends in Buffalo. This comes across clearly in Sweating (As An Activity) where he slows things down and moans about waiting tables while everyone else is back home.
This is by no means a bad album, but with the high standards of an evolving genre, Casey needs to rethink his lyrics and start singing about something more real. Adam Keys
RUSHONROCK Rated: 5/10 Embrace Your Youth