Raise Hell is the third
record by London-based punk-emo band Fresh but it has been my
introduction to them. It’s a great record, which uses pace extremely
well, shifting from mid-tempo to upbeat and back as the tracks ebb and flow.
It’s also a sunny record, at least musically, evoking summer nights and
festival days. Catchy and poppy at times, but with a raw edge too, Fresh
mix it up. There are elements here that remind me of other bands that have featured
on this List: specifically, both The Beths and Tape Toy. When I
recommended this album to a friend, he said that it sounded like Pretty
Girls Make Graves: a reference that was lost on me initially but after
investigation is indeed another good comparator. Fresh have a traditional
punk DYI ethic – a quick glance at their tour schedule makes it clear that they
play lots of shows – and that is reflected in the music too, albeit in
some unexpected ways. One example of that is the use of synth, which is rare
for a punk band and is peppered throughout Raise Hell; more than that, though,
they serve up an unusually unvarnished synth sound. At times it comes over
almost like weird 8-bit ditties over the top of grungy guitars. Different and memorable.
Lyrically, like Sweet Pill, some of the writing is a bit too emo for me
(‘I was never your girlfriend / I don’t deserve that affection’ – jeez).
But, as already noted, it’s probably unfair to listen to emo bands and then
complain that they’re too emo. Anyway, all the boo-hooing hasn’t stopped
this album from getting within a hair’s breadth of the top 5. The high placing
is largely due to just how downright listenable these songs are, and the fact
that there are no weak links: every track shines.