Having already described Mark Vennis as a “punk Springsteen” when I was talking about his previous single, “In These Times…” the arrival of his new EP Sunrise was very welcome. After all, you can form an opinion based on one song but still need to figure out how representative that singular sonic slice is. By their very nature, singles often represent a different side of a band than their greater body of work.
The great thing about the rest of Sunrise is that it is both similar to “In These Times…” and yet different. Which, in this case, is a perfect balance. If that single was one chapter of a sonic story, Sunrise is the bigger story. Each chapter is different yet still part of a whole and written in the same hand.
“Song For Sunrise” actually reminds me of Joe Strummer. It’s not quite his Clash years but more akin to his solo albums. It has the same blend of snarl and sentiment, abrasiveness and optimism, perhaps the sound of youthful idealism tempered by a more mature understanding of the world.
“Collapsing Buildings” is full of chiming and shimmering salvos of indie guitars, driven onward by a strange blend of punk energy and poised pace. Restraint is the name of the game here. And if punk was rarely known for its poeticism, “This Heartless Land” reminds us that Mark and the gang have progressed way beyond the usual punk format, here creating narratives that are both relatable and realistic, not to mention deftly penned.
And, as if to underline that point, “Solid Ground” has me leaning back to a reference point I used before and The Boomtown Rats’ ability to blend new wave spark with punk energy into something genuinely progressive for the time and, considering today’s bland music world of bombastic rock, identikit pop, and cliched punk, truly revelatory for the here-and-now.
Sunrise is the sound of punk that moved on. Punk that finally grew up and learned the lessons from the music around it. Punk that might be lyrically rabble-rousing and politically charged (though here subtly and supplely done) but which is, above all, mature.
This is the sound of evolution rather than revolution!
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