They say “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it,” and there is more than an element of such truth going on in the heart of Bluedive’s music. They certainly wear their pop-punk hearts openly on their sleeves. And why not? It’s a genre that works. It worked in the 90s, it certainly remained popular through the twists and turns of musical fad and fashion across the years and it is popular today.
All that bands like Bluedive are required to do is take those traditions, that musical modus operandi, those loose musical rules, and unspoken regulations and mix it up a bit to create something that is new and fresh and yet familiar enough to take the existing audience with them without dishevelling too many carefully constructed comfort zones. And that is what they do so well here.
“Kario Mart” is a brash and buoyant belter of a song. It rips and roars and riffs in all the right paces, it builds great dynamic through its on/off power plays, and, most importantly of all, it looks you in the eye and challenges you not to react – to perhaps just shuffle your feet, or boogie along, to mosh, to cause mayhem, to instigate dancing or evoke destruction. Go on…do it? I dare you!
