The Anthems: Press

This upstart band from Tucson, Arizona and Anaheim, California has released an impressive 4-song CD combining solid mainstream melodic garage punk with rousing choruses. "Against The Tide" is a clamorous, knuckle-to-the-grip antiphonic assault. I loved "Whiskey and Wine," a drinking song that could have been released by Stiff Little Fingers. "We Told You So," is a swaggering pirate- ty little ditty--with "Disconnected," the darkest of the songs. It is moody and fraying.

If they sound a little derivative, I wouldn't be too worried. Touring and being exposed to different bands and musicians will allow their strong musical center to expand. According to the band, they will be on tour this summer.

The anthems are a very young band (member wise and bands age) but they have progressed very far in their 2 years. With only their self titled 4 song demo/release these guys still seem to be trying to find their sound. Their band has a very clean punk/rock sound with a sort of surf rock/60’s rock which dosen’t sound too bad, it just seems like they haven’t decided on which sound they will continue with over the next few years.

It will be interesting to see what happens with these orange county youngsters. There is the possibility of some very great music coming out of these talented rockers, but its just too hard to decide the on this 4 song release.

Although they were conceived just two years ago, The Anthems have already toured in Germany and Amsterdam. On this self-released four-song EP, seconds into the first track you realize what the attraction is. One of the first things I am amazed by is the sound these kids (they look to be in their early 20s) produce. The songs are well played and rich in sound, and the vocals are quite impressive, bringing to mind a comparison with Joe Strummer. You can also sense a bit of 1960s surf influence (mainly in the percussion). Another impressive band out of Anaheim!

The Anthems - DEMO (own release)
As far as demo's go this is something else then your run of the mill crappy sounding tape. Yeah, its still their own release done by themselves but production, artwork, lyrical content its all pretty good (though kinda basic, but I like that). So all over this record is all fine and dandy, but still I don't really understand why they're already on tour here when you've only got 4 songs released? But, I guess if you'd get the chance you'd take it and maybe after reading this review you wanna check them out immediately so just keep on reading. Their music sounds somewhat more rock influenced then punk if you really want to place it in a specific genre. I guess in time they'll choose to leave the punk out of their sound and go more to that radiofriendly sounding kinda underground rock, but I could be wrong with these guys. Apart from 3 English tracks there's also a song in German called Gestern which is probably a jokesong, I guess (not the lyrics but singing in German is not a common thing for Americans now is it?). Its like they wanna go for this emotional rock thing and still drift on with a punk background but it kinda lacks energy and atmosphere to make these 4 songs anything special but I guess people who are really into mid-paced emorock without the explosive choruses (they are more into the catchy 'sing together' ones) done with semi-gruff sounding vocals will get their moneys worth . Oh yeah, track number 2 opens like the first couple of notes of 'Welcome to the Jungle', so they score some extra points there.

With exciting melodic mid-tempo punkrock and anthem-like choruses, the band lives up to its name. Above all, the strength and clarity of the production is excellent, which is very seldom with such a new and fresh band. Along with three English songs you find Gestern, a song sung in German which was inspired after a meeting with the TOTEN HOSEN, whose influence is not difficult to recognize. Still, I really like it and I´d say this should be able to find a label real quick.

...with a light 60s punk sound, this is some good party music...these guys aren´t from bad stock.

What does one do on Wednesday evening in Dortmund at 9pm? They go to the Bakuda Klub where a night with music, Jägermeister and bottles of beer help to spice things up. First off the California band 'The Anthems', with their 60s-style punkrock, step up on stage and give the crowd the feeling that somehow/somewhere they’ve heard these songs before. Oh yeah, and the guys are total Toten Hosen fans and you can hear it too. To my surprise the singer spoke some German and even sung a song entitled 'Gestern' which was pretty impressive. All in all, good guys and a great show! But Campino and Co. are better in English.

The demo CD of this Orange County four piece (est. 2004) flew into our office not too long ago but caught no one’s attention at first. You flip to the back of the case and see four young men posing and think to yourself, here’s another August 15th release straight out of the pseudo-punk sector. Way off! The Anthems play straight, solid punk rock, that’s reminiscent of 60’s rock n’roll. Immediately with the opener “Against the Tide” , the energetic quartet comes through to show their sound is not far off from their name. The Anthems -- the name says it all! The powerful straight forward rock numbers, decorated with Anthem-like choruses (almost reminding me of early A.F.I.), are best heard at full volume during a nice cruise -- at best in a Cabrio, where you can feel the sun in your face and the wind in your hair…Even as good and solid as the songs are, the only complaint I have is there’s only four and all I can say is “this rocks.” Very versatile demo. Bring something like it out on longplay quickly!