Review by Carmen Mueller
Straight from the suburbs of Chicago come The Studs, who ditched the burbs for the final leg of Van’s Warped Tour. This punk rock band just recently released their second full length album, Red Planet Rock on July 17th. The album has already had radio success having been played on 101 WKQX.
The guys’ sound has evolved since their last record The Fall of the Studs. While the last record had more intense guitars, this album seems more strategic with its music and production. It also features songs that are on the shorter side which I can really appreciate because the songs are jam packed and quite heavy. Having shorter songs gives me a taste of what I need and then switches it up to keep it feeling interesting.
Much of what I found really interesting on this record was found in the instrumentation. A total strength can be found in the striking guitars and banging drums. I started a list of which songs had the best guitars while I listened to the album and I essentially wrote down the whole track list! If I had to pick out some of my favorite guitar tracks, I think “Pepperoni Payoff”, “Alderaan Exit”, Blast Off” and “Stupid Sexy Flanders” would make the top of the list for me. Like is mentioned, the drums also really stand out for me on this record. Songs like “Molecules”, “Level Up!”, and “S.O.T.R.” burst with power because of just how strong the drums are, they really drive the music. Another strong suit that I found were just how often there were group vocals. They add a totally unique and layered effect to every song they appear on. On the whole record, my favorite tracks are “Level Up!”, “Numb and Cold”, “Alien”, “Alderaan Exit”, and “Stupid Sexy Flanders”. These tracks piqued my interest because a lot of them showed great dynamics in the instrumentals and diverged any expectations I had of the songs.
If there was anything I would have liked to have seen done differently on this album, it would be a change of pace. While I jam out to hard rock songs and really appreciate them, I think having a few slower songs would have really helped break up the album. I enjoy so many elements of this group; instrumentals and group vocals and I would have liked to have seen them incorporated with some slower songs.
Overall, I think this was a really fun album! It has such a raging force that courses throughout the whole project and is a great example of exciting, modern, punk rock music. I can’t help but feel like I’m listening to an alternate version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and it is such a fun ride!
Their album, Red Planet Rock can be found on Spotify and the band’s website: