Outpatient - Unreality
OUTPATIENT DROPS BRUTALLY EXCELLENT ‘UNREALITY’ EP
Outpatient, a pop-punk outfit from Kamloops, British Columbia, released their EP, entitled Unreality, on January 12. It’s a yummy example of what non-derivative pop-punk can be, and should be.
Outpatient
Other than the initials of the individuals in the band, along with the instrument they play, there is zero gen on this band. I Googled them about fifteen different ways. Nothing comes up except for show announcements and one or two videos, which are bereft of links to social media.
Almost forgot. The EP was mixed and mastered by Circle A Studios.
Anyway, Outpatient is made up of: HD (guitar, vocals), NJ (bass), LT (drums), and AJ (vocals, art). I’m assuming “art” refers to things like cover artwork, but maybe AJ’s in charge of the band’s musical aesthetics, technique, and overall flair.
There are four-tracks on the EP, starting off with “Flowers Gathered,” which opens on almost tinny guitars, but then ramps up to thick, growling, dirty guitars full of beau coup sonic punch. Raspy vocals conjure up memories of Kurt Cobain, only without all the shouting and screaming.
Grand, glorious pop-punk!
LT’s drumming is viciously potent, rumbling on Jovian detonations, infusing the tune with dark thumping energy. Stuttering riffs fill the breakdowns, prior to rocketing off into push-it-out-with-gusto-ville.
Intelligent lyrics, a rarity for pop-punk in general, make give the song’s actual meaning.
“I'm riding a fine agnostic line / I'm trying to see through filled up eyes / I'm playing around in a burial ground / I want to get lost in the realm of the found.”
“You’re So Cool” begins with chopping drums flowing into ferocious guitar riffs, thick, dense, and fuzzy, while a pummeling rhythm drives the song at breakneck speed. I love the deep berserker tones emanating from the guitars, as the bassline ascends from the center of the earth, way down deep and powerful.
“Are We Still Having Any Fun?” eschews an intro and rolls right into recklessly wild momentum pumped out by chainsaw guitars, as the drums burst forth with Factor Five oomph. “Burn” commences on low-slung alt-rock flavors and then hits the accelerator, resulting in brutal sonic projections on the chorus. This track bleeds it’s so raw!
On Unreality, Outpatient subjects listeners to unbridled exhibitionism, reckless dynamism, and visible sonic disturbances. Grand, glorious pop-punk!
Follow Outpatient Bandcamp
