Timeshares

Already Dead (2015)

Alex

Amongst a sea of comparably scrappy DIY punk bands, Timeshares stands out as being particularly industrious. Formed at the end of 2009 in New York, Timeshares put out an engaging three-song demo and hit the ground running. In fact, I’d discovered them halfway across the country, at a basement show in Whitewater, WI, only a matter of months after their formation. They played the country over and, along with a handful of splits with notable east coasters (Captain, We’re Sinking!, Luther), Timeshares released the fantastic Bearable in 2011. Bearable encapsulates every crowd-pleasing aspect of every band that’s ever played The Fest while maintaining fairly diverse punk song structures -- certainly aided by three distinctive vocalists. It’s energetic, catchy, heartfelt and rousing. After writing one 2011’s best punk records, it’s baffling that Timeshares didn’t have a bigger impact on the punk community, but at the very least, it brought them to a new release on the very reputable Side One Dummy.

Already Dead picks up where Bearable left off. It’s not the immediately attention grabbing album of punk anthem sing-alongs that the latter was, but one that’s more confident in its direction and voice. Timeshares have always invited comparisons to Latterman, but the comparison gets a little weak with this record. They’ve grown more comfortable in occasionally turning the speed down to offer simmering rock’n’roll riffs. The band itself claims to have transitioned to a “leaner version of Lucero,” and if you listen closely, there are more elements of the southern, countrified rockers on this record. "Same Day, Different Week" and "The New Incisions" offer rock riffs that would feel at home on That Much Further West, but neither feels too overtly different. Alongside Lucero, there’s a heavier hand of clear influences the Replacements and Superchunk, but the band never completely shuts off its Orgcore switch. Make no mistake, despite drawing from a wider palette of style, the music has the fist-pumping drive of previous releases. Songs like "Tail Light" and "Sister" could easily be this year's Fest anthems.

An impressive aspect to observe on Already Dead is that, like much of the bands previous work, it was all recorded in bassist Mike Natoli’s basement. For a home recording, it’s got a pretty stellar sound. The only distinction is that the snare and bass drum are louder and more aggressive than they’d be on most standard studio releases. Like its predecessor, the production brings out the punchy punkness of the songs, with a powerful, distinctive snare that anchors the force of the songs. If you’re a mixing nitpicker, it might sound abrasive, but for me, it makes the record a little more unique and appealing. Without the evolution in style, the albums would be pretty uniform. With the musical shift, the album feels like an interesting second chapter to an already engaging book.

If you were as impressed with Timeshares output the last few years as I’ve been, Already Dead will be pleasantly familiar, but offer a little more to chew on. If you dig Lucero, but want to hear their tunes played by east coast punkers, look no further. Like me, you'll likely find yourself singing "Can I call you sister?" to yourself weeks after you hear the record.