{"id":6876,"date":"2015-11-16T13:05:39","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T13:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-handguns-disenchanted\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T22:16:09","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T22:16:09","slug":"album-review-handguns-disenchanted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-handguns-disenchanted\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Handguns \u00a0\u2013 Disenchanted"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HandgunsHandguns<\/b> have always stood alongside the likes of The Wonder Years as a pop punk band with something more interesting to say, rather than the same staid messages about friendship and unity, and \u2018Disenchanted\u2019<\/i> is another similarly strong effort thematically. <\/p>\n

Opener \u2018Self Portrait\u2019<\/i> kicks off with a quote from Paul Dano\u2019s character, Dwayne, from Little Miss Sunshine. It\u2019s a quote about fitting in and sitting on the outside. \u201cLife is one fucking beauty contest after another,\u201d<\/i> he says. \u201cYou do what you love and fuck the rest,\u201d<\/i> he concludes after his little rant. And it\u2019s these two message that stand out strong throughout \u2018Disenchanted\u2019<\/i>. <\/p>\n

\u2018Self Portrait\u2019<\/i> paints a picture of someone struggling to fit in, lack of self-confidence and isolation, while \u2018The Worst In Me\u2019<\/i> talks about grief, black clouds and anxiety. It\u2019s to Handguns<\/b>\u2019 immense credit that they can talk about these mental health issues with a light touch and speak to their fanbase \u2013 many of whom may be dealing with similar issues without being patronising or condescending \u2013 as equals, drawing on their own experiences. <\/p>\n

Disenchanted by Handguns<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a danger that such an album could have been too dense, but there\u2019s some monstrously big choruses and huge hooks to lighten the tone. \u2018My Lowest Point\u2019<\/i>, \u2018Low Spirits\u2019<\/i> and the title track are all emotionally weighted but real earworms that will have you singing along almost instantly. <\/p>\n

Indeed, when they\u2019re tackling issues of mental health, Handguns<\/b> seem very much in their comfort zone \u2013 and are, in fact, very good at it. Yet it\u2019s when they step away from this sphere that things take something of a tumble. \u2018Carbon Copy Elitist\u2019<\/i> may be a throwaway interlude, but it\u2019s also pretty dreadful. Of course, there may be a reason for its inclusion, but it feels at turns self-indulgent and breaks the flow and message of the album. It\u2019s a shame as when \u2018Disenchanted\u2019<\/i> is good, it is spectacularly so. <\/p>\n

That said, \u2018Disenchanted\u2019<\/i> is one of the most important pop punk records you will hear all year. Pop punk albums are rarely credited for their intelligence or for the strength of songwriting, yet Handguns<\/b> have delivered on both fronts. <\/p>\n

4\/5<\/p>\n

‘Disenchanted’<\/em> by Handguns<\/strong> is out now on Pure Noise Records<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Handguns<\/strong> links: Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Rob Mair (@BobNightMair<\/a>) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Handguns have always stood alongside the likes of The Wonder Years as a pop punk band with something more interesting to say, rather than the same staid messages about friendship and unity, and \u2018Disenchanted\u2019 is another similarly strong effort thematically. Opener \u2018Self Portrait\u2019 kicks off with a quote from Paul Dano\u2019s character, Dwayne, from Little […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":15052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[4361,4360,66,15022],"class_list":["post-6876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-disenchanted","tag-handguns","tag-pure-noise-records","tag-rob-mair"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Handguns \u00a0\u2013 Disenchanted - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Handguns have always stood alongside the likes of The Wonder Years as a pop punk band with something more interesting to say, rather than the same staid\" \/>\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: Handguns \u00a0\u2013 Disenchanted - 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