Punked Melodic Rock
Cargo Records
Release Date – August 11th 2023
Line Up:
Julia Calvo – Vocals
Jackie ‘Jax’ Chambers – Guitar/Vocals
Steph Dawson – Bass/Vocals
Pablo Calvo – Drums
Tracklist:
1 – Chasing Dreams
2 – Breaking Through
3 – It Hit Me
4 – Monsters
5 – Empty
6 – Debt Generation
7 – It’s A Mess
8 – Remember Me
9 – Raise Your Glass
10 – Nine To Nine
11 – Couldn’t Be Bothered
12 – Pause For Peace (Silent Minute)
Bonus Tracks
13 – Talk Too Much
14 – Rockaway Beach
Here we go with the third album from Yorkshire-based Syteria which features Jax Chambers from Girlschool. Busy lady with this release and the new Girlschool record coming out soon too. Syteria are a different entity and according to their press release they use the ancient Solfeggio scale of recording which is 432hz as opposed to the standard 440hz. No, me neither! Let’s just say that whatever they used and however they did it the songs sound awesome.
‘Chasing Dreams’ starts on a happy pop-punk groove that brings some wonderful harmony vocals and a catchy melody, both are a constant throughout the record. ‘Breaking Through’ gets harder and edgier but again has a great hook that you will sing absent-mindedly. Steph Dawson gives us a steady riff on ‘It Hit Me’ before Chambers joins with a ska-like guitar line and you can’t stop yourself bouncing along before the stomping ‘Empty’ where Julia Calvo goes from sultry to full-on at the click of a finger and just get the fantastic breakdown and chorus which again you will be singing at an annoying rate. ‘Debt Generation’ is more pop-punk and catchier than the common cold before the new wave ‘It’s A Mess’. ‘Remember Me’ goes kind of alternative then hold on to your hats because ‘Raise Your Glass’ goes full-on punk and no messin’ before the heavier ‘Nine To Nine’ leads to the fun rock n roll of ‘Couldn’t be Bothered’. The final cut ‘Pause For Peace (Silent Minute)’ is a social commentary set to a pop-punk backing. My stream has two bonus tracks the bitchy and biting ‘Talk Too Much’ and a raucous take on The Ramones ‘Rockaway Beach’ – what a great way to end.
I like this – full of energy, great melodies, huge hooks, and the harmonies are first-class. The sense of fun is evident, but Syteria does write about some serious subjects like consumerism, societal pressures, personal struggles, and self-discovery. It’s refreshing to hear songs about these subjects played with that energy and volume, it doesn’t always have to be introspective and depressing. Syteria own their issues and here they are saying it’s ok not to be ok so let’s rock out and support each other. Unfortunately, my stream only allows me a certain amount of plays so I’m going to have to wait for the physical copy to be released, when I get it I’ll be playing this to death!
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 9/10
About Author
