The Tank

Demonstrating Potential (2001)

Scott Heisel

A while back, I reviewed a band called Kid With Man Head's newest EP "Fond Memories Of The Halibut Rodeo." Reviewed is a bit of a stretch. I pretty much panned the hell out of it, with my biggest complaint being that they sound like a bad Gameface clone. Ironically, I'm praising this band, The Tank, for the same reasons. The Tank sounds like a better version of Gameface than Gameface's recent material.

The Orange County, CA quartet does an admirable job of delivering the rock goods over 5 tracks, with my personal standout being the first, "Sickday." It couples not too glossy recording production with a catchy pop-punk guitar riff and nice, if somewhat misaligned vocal harmonies. It's a winner.
"Overview" is next and keeps the energy churning with harmonies aplenty and upbeat bouncy rock.
"Bad Advice" and "Glass Presser" kind of blend together in my mind after a listen, but while they're playing the hooks jump out and gouge themselves into my skin, locking me in for 2 or 3 minutes. They have yet to make a lasting impression, but I'll give it a few more listens and see what happens then.
The disc finishes with a complete change of style for the group. "The Crew" is a straight up Bad Religion-esque 2 minute punk rock song. It makes me feel like I'm in a timewarp, sounding like something I would have been going apeshit for when I was 14. It doesn't do that much for me now, but the other four tracks make up for it.

This band does sound a lot like Gameface. The singer's voice is a dead ringer for Geoff, and their music is as much of the same style as you can get without directly ripping off the band. But The Tank's material seems fresh, energetic, and lively, and that is where the latest Gameface stuff [especially their split EP with Errortype:11 and their new album] has seemed to fail. Also, the EP is enhanced with the band's video for "Thomas Guide" off their Dr. Strange Records full length. My only huge complaint is that the singer is wearing his own band's shirt on the back cover. Dude, don't be that guy.
Kudos to Does Everyone Stare? Records for going on a 3-0 string of great EPs: first the Joshua one, then the High Lo Fi one, now this. This label knows about good bands, it seems.

MP3s
Overview
Glass Presser