Vanilla Pod – Seeing Out The Sunrise LP/ MCD (TNS/ Dry Heave)
This is a blast from the past! I have hazy memories of the one night probably well over ten years ago when Vanilla Pod stayed at my flat in Berlin, and all I can really remember is that it was a messy night out with the lads, and somehow there were tomato stains splattered on the walls the next morning! So all these years later it\’s good to hear that the Pod is still rumbling on, banging out their brand of melodic skate-punk rock. The record has a relaxed, natural feel to it and it feels like they had a blast writing and recording these songs, and that upbeat mood gets passed onto the listener. You come off the back of this with a smile on your face – the guitar hooks and tuneful vocals are all there, think classic Face To Face for melodic punk that is that little bit harder that the pop-punk standard. To be honest I would expect this record to be good – I mean these guys don\’t really have to prove anything to anyone, so it would have been odd to hear something mediocre. Well I\’m glad that they have delivered on all accounts here, with a record that is fresh, catchy and fun. Tom Chapman