{"id":5184,"date":"2016-06-22T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2016-06-22T12:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-direct-hit-wasted-mind\/"},"modified":"2018-03-22T23:29:59","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T23:29:59","slug":"album-review-direct-hit-wasted-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-direct-hit-wasted-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Direct Hit – Wasted Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
\"image\"<\/figure>\n

A quick blast through ‘Artificial Confidence’<\/i>, the first track proper on Direct Hit<\/b>’s new album ‘Wasted Mind’<\/i> is enough to form an initial image of what this band is about. They’re a punk band, they’re signed to Fat Wreck – probably another one of the old guard clamouring for relevance in 2016, right? Actually, Direct Hit<\/b> were only formed in 2007, though the degree to which they’ve nailed their sound on this album is a testament to their skill.<\/p>\n

‘Wasted Mind’<\/i> is an album that cuts out any fat in favour of sharp, punked-up blasts, and it works exceptionally. ‘Paid In Brains’<\/i> sees frontman Nick Woods dealing in fairly vicious screams (a welcome deviation from his Tom Delonge-esque cleans), while the sporadic bursts of saxophone that appear throughout offer some nice body and a richness not often seen in punk albums. <\/p>\n

That’s the nice thing about ‘Wasted Mind’<\/i> – while it’s unequivocally a punk album, it’s frequently reminiscent of very different styles, keeping it fresh throughout. Take ‘Another Dimension’<\/i>, which offers a snarling take on The Gaslight Anthem’s rootsy chime, or ‘Promised Land’<\/i>, whose twinkle is even reminiscent of \u2018Pretty. Odd.\u2019-era Panic! At The Disco.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

It all comes together to make ‘Wasted Mind’<\/i> a truly remarkable achievement. Where the idea of punk in 2016 is something so watered down it’s pop-rock with a cooler name, Direct Hit<\/b> may have galvanised a genre in a way that keeps its roots on show but manages to inject in some fresh life. And if any of that sounds even the tiniest bit appealing, consider ‘Wasted Mind’<\/i> essential listening.<\/p>\n

4\/5<\/p>\n

‘Wasted Mind’<\/em> by Direct Hit<\/strong> is released on 24th June on Fat Wreck Chords<\/strong><\/p>\n

Direct Hit<\/strong> links: Website<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Luke Nuttall(@nuttall_luke<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A quick blast through ‘Artificial Confidence’, the first track proper on Direct Hit’s new album ‘Wasted Mind’ is enough to form an initial image of what this band is about. They’re a punk band, they’re signed to Fat Wreck – probably another one of the old guard clamouring for relevance in 2016, right? Actually, Direct […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":15558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[606,607,15029,3384],"class_list":["post-5184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-direct-hit","tag-fat-wreck-chords","tag-luke-nuttall","tag-wasted-mind"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Direct Hit - Wasted Mind - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A quick blast through ‘Artificial Confidence’, the first track proper on Direct Hit’s new album 'Wasted Mind’ is enough to form an\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Album Review: Direct Hit - 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