Garage Noise flit between pop punk bangers and acoustic balladry on latest EP Innocent Scenes.
The EP opens with the pop punk revelry of Edgewood Drive, which brims with screechy guitars and sneering vocals reminiscent of Blink 182’s Tom DeLonge.
The influence of that band is felt all throughout Edgewood Drive, which carries all the staples of classic pop punk from thunderous percussion to harmonic verses that crescendo into some altogether more teeth-bearing.
Through it all, it’s Garage Noise’s clear ear for melody that shines the brightest, as the band pair the rock-ier elements of their sound with earwormy flairs like call-and-response vocals and a slow-tempo bridge.
The band add extra depth to Edgewood Drive through their powerful lyricism, telling a lovelorn tale of nonreciprocal romance against a backdrop of their childhood street.
Again invoking their musical peers, Garage Noise draw more heavily on the pop stylings of 5 Seconds of Summer on second track Jamie.
Still adorned with noisy instrumentation and thrashing guitar, Jamie also holds space for cleaner vocals, as the band sing incisively of karma and being let down.
To squeeze diaristic storytelling within the confines of an otherwise-searing punk banger is no small feat, but Garage Noise continue to bear their soul on Scars.
Serving as the EP’s tenderest entry yet, the track flows like an acoustic pop ballad, complete with rustic strums and subtle percussion.
Of course, the band still refuse to hold their punches, picking up the pace for an ascendant chorus that recalls the bittersweet nostalgia of Green Day’s Wake Me Up When September Ends.
Though it treads more sombre territory in terms of sound, Scars finds Garage Noise in a place of optimism, musing on the safety net that a relationship can bring.
With its heavy guitars and midwest emo sound, Scars is an EP highlight, though it’s almost outshone by Silhouettes, which holds a special place in the band’s history. The slow-going cut is the first song Garage Noise wrote as a band, and it marks the EP’s clearest venture into airy dream pop.
With its violin moments and stirring piano keys, it’s a welcome change of pace within the broader tracklist, and spotlights some of the band’s most vulnerable reflections.
Later, penultimate track Make It All Better again pulls back on the noise for a guitar-driven love letter to a life-changing kind of relationship.
Garage Noise’s efforts culminate on EP closer These Days, which reintroduces big guitars and heavy reverb for yet another highlight.
Dotted by unique riffs and ascendent vocals, These Days draws on all the sounds touched on previously without feeling like a mish-mash.
Innocent Scenes preempts what feels like a breakout moment for Garage Noise, who are set to perform a string of headline shows throughout Sydney over the coming weeks.
On November 19, the four-piece will steal the spotlight at Broovale’s Bucketty’s, before performing at Burdekin Hotel on November 30. They’ll then close out 2023 with a show at Oxford Art Factory on December 7.
In the meantime, listen to Garage Noise’s new EP Innocent Scenes below.
