Fahrenheit 451 - The Battleground is Everywhere

  by Paul Raven

published: 4 / 4 / 2007

Label: Fahrenheit 451
Format: CDS

intro

Fist-in-the-air, but essentially bubblegum pop-punk on first EP from new band Fahrenheit 451, who have named themselves afer the classic Ray Bradbury novel

Ah, the naive energy of disaffected youth – Fahrenheit 451 have it in spades, along with a hefty collection of albums from the original wave of UK punk, if the styles of these three tunes are anything to judge by. Opener 'We Are Youth' does exactly what it says on the tin – it's a joyous fist in the air for the directionless confusion of being a teenager in small-town Britain, channelled through a song structure that Malcolm McLaren will find alarmingly familiar. 'Bass and Bombs' attacks disposable music scenes and the people who populate them. 'This Could be Anywhere'. a commendable stab at the "my town sucks" anthem formula, takes us into the quiet-loud-quiet dynamics of grunge while retaining the oh-so-authentic UK punk sound that they obviously want to reclaim for themselves – and for 'the kids'. I'm going to cut them some slack for naming themselves after one of the most haunting and important science fiction novels ever written. But even with that taken into consideration, Fahrenheit 451 seem to be cranking out exactly the same sort of bubblegum pop-punk as every other spiky-haired teenage three-piece in the nation. At least they're drawing on some authentic root sounds and can play their instruments fairly well - and the lack of a brass section will be a relief to anyone who attended any local venue at any time during the late 90's ska-punk explosion. But Fahrenheit 451 are going to have to display much more genuine spit and piss to convince me that they're not just another group of middle class kids paying lip-service to a nihilism that they've only ever seen on television.

Track Listing:-