Monday, 8th September, 2008
Sweet Diss and the Comebacks: "Coulda Been Worse"
If you were of the opinion that pop-punk couldn’t get any poppier than, say, the Tattle Tales or Karmella’s Game, then you’re about to be opened up to a whole new world. The fantastically fun world of Sweet Diss and the Comebacks. Harmonies and melodies abound, Sweet Diss and the Comebacks have obviously spent a lot of time listening to sixties and seventies pop records, but Coulda Been Worse still has enough of a punk influence to not lose that all important edge. Sweet guitar sounds all around, Sweet Diss’, like many of their contemporaries don’t forget the obligatory synthesiser, and of course some wonderfully crooning vocals. I don’t think I’ve heard anything as catchy as this in a good while now. This is unashamedly pop throughout. Whilst many of those in the mainstream focus way too much on their image and fashion, Sweet Diss’ surely have the songs here to easily outmuscle their major label competitors. Seriously, if these guys aren’t big in the next few years, there’s something really wrong with the current music industry.
Sweet Diss and the Comebacks come across as an awesome cross between sixties pop, most prominently the Beach Boys, and the late nineties pop-punk sound of bands like the Travoltas, the Queers and Blink 182. And it is pulled off brilliantly. I’ve heard band after band trying to make this sound their own, Sweet Diss’ are in the minority when they can do it this well. Lets take album highlight "All That’s Green" for example. Synthesised goodness, guitar stomping and an almighty killer chorus - Sweet Diss’ simply cannot go wrong for much of the record. "Craziest Girl" has too many hooks to know what to do with, "Going Away" has some of the coolest guitar sounds to be heard in recent times, whilst "Jimmy in a Well" is where Sweet Diss exercise their punk rock to its fullest extent but, as always, don’t forget the fun: “Jimmy fell, Jimmy fell, Jimmy in a well!”
There are literally tons of bands with these influences (especially the Queers), so it takes someone special to reinvent them for a new generation. This album is dripping in potential; their next move is crucial and I, for one, can’t wait to see where the Sweet Diss’ train takes us next. Yes, this record could have been better in places perhaps - a greater "edge" is definitely needed to their sound - but it surely must remain one of the great debuts of the modern pop-punk era. It certainly "Coulda Been Worse,” a whole lot fucking worse. Great record.
