Review: Sic Waiting – Anchors Astray

Sergio reviews Sic Waiting’s Anchors Astray.

Artist Name: Sic Waiting
Album Name: Anchors Astray
Year: 2010
Genre: Punk Rock
Label: Independent

I’m a sucker for good ol’ fashioned punk. If it sounds like it could be on a Tony Hawk video game soundtrack, I’m happier than Pete Doherty in a pool of coke. More so, if the band sounds anything like Ignite, Pennywise or Rise Against, I’m sold. So, putting in Sic Waiting’s Anchors Astray, I whip out my list of requirements, pull out the Montblanc pen (yeah right) and begin to listen attentively. Check, check and motherf**king check!

Have you ever felt that you’re in the presence of something big? Like when you listen to a band and say, “This band is going to go places”? I do. I will go on record and say that Sic Waiting is the next big thing in punk. Whoa! That’s a pretty big statement for me to make, right? Well, hear me out…

Firstly, I’ve never heard a punk band who burn up a fretboard as eloquently and technically proficient as Sic Waiting. I always used to believe guitarists joined punk bands because they couldn’t play metal, but ‘Okay, I Lied’ and ‘Living Disaster’ have shown that there is still a place for shredders and chuggers in the world of power-chords. On occasion, the dual guitar attacks of Jared Stinson and Dylan Blanton are mildly reminiscent of the gruesome twosome from Avenged Sevenfold, Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance. Let’s not forget about the rhythm section of the band, who tighten up all the loose ends and never fail to throw in a few musical hooks to spice up the orchestrated, melodic chaos. Musically, they’re up there with all the hard-hitters of the punk genre.

Secondly, the songs are deathly catchy. I’m not talking pop punk garbage, which will make your sister feel better when she’s on her period; I’m talking about catchy melodic punk with a lyrical purpose – think of the new breed of melodic punk heroes i.e. Rise Against (yes!), Pennywise (yes!) and Ignite (yes again!). It’s hard to forget their tracks and the lyrics tend to stay indented in your memory banks. Right now, I can’t stop humming ‘Sunset on the Moon’ (hello and goodbye, productivity).

In conclusion, I’m sending Sic Waiting a bill for the repairs of my burnt-out CD player. Check this band out now. To quote my fellow reviewer, Palmer Sturman, you can thank me later.

Best Tracks: ‘A Part of Everyone’s Disease’, ‘Sunset on the Moon’, ‘Selfish Song’, ‘Okay, I Lied’, and ‘Living Disaster’

90/100

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za
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