Anime Aliens - ​Sucker Punch

Anime Aliens

​Sucker Punch
self-released; 2017

3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk
​

Anime Aliens are a band from Sacramento, CA comprised of Charlie Passarell, (Guitar/Vocals)  Zack Wheaton,  (Bass) and Phillip Towles  (Drums). They released an album entitled Sucker Punch.

The songs felt like frivolous fairly ironic “nerdy” rock songs that contained trivial thoughts ranging from “not understanding minecraft” to having to go to the bathroom which is what I think the topic was about on “Pee Monster”

The song are so short that you barely have time to start rocking out before it ends. It’s like fleeting ideas that never get fleshed and it ends before it even gets started. Suffice it to say listening to album sequentially was a lot more of a gratifying way of experience the songs rather than individually.

The band's plays into the garage rock of early Weezer or band like Wavves. It's fairly straightforward garage rock that blends in the traditional elements of distorted guitar, bass and drums.

Up first is “intro” which is a short lived guitar pattern that goes into “Horsemen” which is the four chord style garage rock that you can expect from the majority of the songs. Half the song has vocals followed but a short lived guitar solo. The garage style songs start to feel interchangeable fairly early on dispersed with pieces like “Skit 1: In Flux” which felt like experimental art pieces that felt unnecessary.

I don’t have anything against band's writing about topics that don’t have much lyrical emotional resonance but some band's are able to off both. At their best bands like Weezer and Wavves have songs that can do both by interjecting what might be considered trivial topics and themes and connect it to emotional states like anger, sadness, joy, etc. I’d like to see if the lyricist can do something similar and connect to songs to larger ubiquitous subjects which in turn could make the audience more emotionally connected. Food for thought.

The album definitely felt geared for a younger audience from the style to the topics to the general bohemian punk irony the seems to be interwoven into the music. There is definitely an audience for this style but feel like the band is their embryonic stage right now and have to admit I would love to hear something with better production value and more meaty songs at some point.

Overall, this is a solid start and feel like they are onto something. I look forward to hearing the band's progress.

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