
FAREWELL – RUN IT UP THE FLAGPOLE
With their rally cry: “So when did rock’n’roll become this fucking fashion show / You talk so much but you don’t understand” Farewell make their position clear. Like Green Day before them, they make a self-confessed play for the mythical middle ground “…toeing the line between sugary pop melodies and unbridled punk-rock energy while creating a record that both Top-40 fans and punk purists can enjoy equally”. And here on their second album, in the words of singer Marshal Davis: “We wanted to continue to move forward as a band and help expand our fans’ perception of what “pop-punk” could be. That’s why this new record has its own identity. It’s a perfect blend of our past and present.” Heard anything new yet? Sure they do it well, a la Billy Joe and friends, but if you are over 18…well: “This is a song…for all the kids that shot and missed…follow us we are the difference / Follow us we are the difference” – if you need to repeat it, it is unlikely to be true. Malcolm Mclaren and the Sex Pistols have a lot to answer for.
**