Stolen Airplane - There Are Worse Things To (Be)Come

Stolen Airplane

There Are Worse Things To (Be)Come
Seven Dead Arson; 2014

3.5 out of 5

By Ethan Skelton

Stolen Airplane sound like they are a little fresh out of the garage. Just enough studio polish to pull it off, but I hear a level of inexperience coming through the mix and it’s pretty much hand in hand with the majority of their material. At times the guitar really sings and the drums are flying in some impressive punk form, you just have to stomach some lesser than great stretches of fumbled production. I always cut slack for genres that get away with a certain raw sound and this group falls in line. You can disguise your craft in the package of dirty mix and free-spirited intensity, I’ll understand. Now just make some hits. Isn’t that always the problem? 

Their album There Are Worse Things To (Be)Come is so close but at almost every turn there’s a wrong beat, a missed cue, a wrong guitar tone, lost focus, etc. Stolen Airplane is a fine example of a group that is shaping before our eyes. They have the creativity and material to shell out in high doses. It’s only a matter of time until the right minds guide them toward relevancy. Damn it, I know that’s not punk rock or very cool for that matter, but it needs to happen in some cases. I’ll personally attest to this application. Let’s hope for a kick ass follow up from these guys. Nonetheless, here are some finer moments worthy of discussion.

Let’s start with the album title There Are Worse Things To (Be)Come. I love the pun and thought within a thought impression. Gives two different ideas within the same turn of a word. So side props are due. The art is pretty out there and clearly demands some attention. There’s a lot to appreciate within this scene of drunk/needy birds amidst a potential attack or savior and the “being in a band” objectification. 

“Disinfect” has some great gang vocal reiterations on the chorus and plays well between spacey and clean verses with thumping distortion. The drums should stay on those hats though and not lean on the ride especially the bell as it cheapens the sound. “To The Edges” starts off with a tense bass line that can only mean that things are about to get real. However, the motif is swamped under a countermelody of crunch guitar and becomes a little lost in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes it would be better to keep things simple. Ultimately, I would suggest that one piece of advice. Take it or leave it. There are worse things to (be) said.

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