Five More – Merit Maker (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Punk, which claimed to be the sound of revolution, may seem a long time ago now. Like all revolutions, sonic and otherwise, it burned brightly and briefly, and the world moved on. But, as Five More shows us, it never completely went away, and over the years, it has found new outlets through genres such as hardcore, oi, Ska-core, folk-punk and, particularly, pop-punk. Merit Maker‘s latest ep falls roughly into that last category. All this reminds us that while revolution might seem like an exciting proposition, it is evolution that gives a genre any form of longevity.

And even within the pop-punk boundaries, Merit Maker tests boundaries, both for the band itself and for the scene and sound in general.

“Pulling Me Down” kicks off with a brilliant riff, one that sounds like Golden Earring’s “Radar Love” on steroids, before dropping into incendiary pop-punk. “Really That Hard” is a more poised and polished take on 60s garage rock. And that is the art, really. Have one foot in your chosen camp, but use the other to kick down sonic demarcations and barriers so that you can explore nearby genres, too.

“Things We Dismiss” has the intensity of those early eighties street punk bands, the ones that straddled the boundary between traditional punk dynamics and the sort of rock that the likes of Motorhead were exploring. “So Many Times plays a more traditional pop-punk card. “Hearts on Display” rounds things off with a wonderfully balanced musical poignancy and sonic power.

Punk’s not dead; it just moved on to accommodate more modern, perhaps more refined tastes.