HANDGUNS // Disenchanted

Handguns : Disenchanted
(Pure Noise)

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Enjoyable for its entire runtime, Disenchanted feels like an all rounder record that won’t require much persuasion to appeal to a wide audience.

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Sounding less polished, slightly out of time and all the more endearing as a result, Handguns are rejecting the squeaky clean image that pop punk has been moving towards recently. At the outset vocalist Taylor Eby’s vocals may seem shrill, yet by the end of the record they reveal themselves to be perfect for the subject matter. Feeling isolated, love problems and the lot are more than well represented during Disenchanted. Pop-punk fans will also have no issue in picking up references from other artists, but Handguns are a lot more catchy than some of their gloomier contemporaries. Managing to work in semblances of The Wonder Years and AFI but put your own spin on it is an achievement in itself. The lyrics in The Worst In Me would sound downright despondent if read without the music, but it seems like a happy go lucky riff makes an issue like anxiety able to be sung so casually. Similarly in Bury Me and Recovery, the words could seem worringly grim for young kids to be singing along to if you’re one of THOSE parents. The band aren’t just attempting a new wave of emo though. Carbon Copy Elitist calls out ‘fake friends’ in the industry, and feels like the most enjoyably ‘punk’ section of the album. Using lines in songs – Missed Calls – like “I promise I’ll remember to charge my phone this time/as long you promise you’ll hold on the other line” is also a clever play on the problems of the youth today, and those in the demographic will love it. Enjoyable for its entire runtime, Disenchanted feels like an all rounder record that won’t require much persuasion to appeal to a wide audience.

Standout tracks: Carbon Copy Elitist, Disenchanted, Self Portrait

For fans of: The Wonder Years, Neck Deep, State Champs

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Disenchanted is out now via Pure Noise Records. Click here to stream the album and read an interview with Brandon!