The Backliners

The Backliners (2009)

Brian Shultz

The Backliners are a punk trio out of Israel doing garden-variety, American gravelly pop-punk, but a solid interpretation of it at that.

Looking at the band's influences, the Queers, the Riverdales and Screeching Weasel seem to be most prominent in their sound. They try some harmonizing to raw but decent effect in "Night Shift," while a pinch of playful aggression gives officepolitik slam "Suit Dummies" a little bit of something extra.

Like those previous pop-punk bands the Backliners borrow so readily from, there's a refreshing lack of frills on this album, but it doesn't make it boring or too one-dimensional. All three members sing, so you get a variety of vocal styles while the album remains plenty cohesive. The band can slow it down a bit for the depressed intro of "Not for Me" or traverse a speedier tempo in "The Man in the Clothing Shop." The quick "Kamikaze" is appropriately titled, as it's a flailing, brief burst. Barked, forceful vocals in "Bum" actually give it a bit of old-school NYHC edge à la Murphy's Law.

The Backliners have served their country proud with their self-titled effort, an admirable and well-done take on an overdone pop-punk style.

Also, one of the guys looks a lot like Frank Turner, so there's that.

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Hold Back
Suit Dummies
The Man in the Clothing Shop
Not for Me