A slice of nice, basic pop punk. Face To Face carved out a name for themselves in the early to mid 90s with a few “classic” (no malevolence intended, I just disagree with it, disagreeing is what I do) melodic punk records, and then got criticism from most angles for changing their sound to an almost gloomy alt-rock style on 1999’s Ignorance Is Bliss, and then got another barrage of insults for changing it back. The band broke up after 2003’s How To Ruin Everything, took part in some side projects (most notably bassist Scott Shiflett and vocalist/guitarist Trever Keith in the impressive Viva Death) and reunited a number of years later after the coast had cleared and all most people remembered of them was those earlier albums, reinforcing this with their live shows. Indeed, eleven of their twelve-song set supporting Dropkick Murphys in Manchester
The band’s first long player, Don’t Turn Away is often cited as their most loved/influential record, although it’s not a runaway winner. 1994’s Big Choice and the self-titled album that followed two years later retain high praise from modern pop punk circles, but the 1992 debut had a simpler formula, and borrowed the iconic head-in-knees kid idea from Minor Threat’s first record for the album cover. So that’s what we’re looking at, but along with some related releases, and because I’m a stick in the mud for chronological order, we’ll start with the No Authority single.
The A-side of this single, which came with about three different covers from the folks at Dr Strange, is a different, rougher version of what would appear on the album. Low-end guitar, steady pace, vocal melodies, and all the other things you’d expect from a listenable but uninspiring three piece still in relative infancy. Two B-sides were provided, the first of which is “Don’t Turn Away”, which was left off the record bearing its name. Keith’s vocals, which proved to be quite capable as time went by, are horrible on this side of the disc, which is rounded out with a dire cover of Blondie’s “One Way Or Another”. Face To Face’s covers have always been hit or miss for me, and this falls into the latter category. What we’re left with is a single that doesn’t really showcase anything, other than the competency of the early rhythm section of Matt Riddle and Rob Kurth.
Don’t Turn Away was eventually patched together (the material that made up the album was recorded with two different engineers) and released on the same label. The opening track, “You’ve Done Nothing” seems to pick up where the single left off, although a slight change in the music halfway through showed that they weren’t going completely by numbers. “I’m Not Afraid” is a bit more interesting despite being musically a bit simpler and slower. A lot more work’s been applied to the vocals and backing vocals, and it pays dividends.
“Disconnected” is the song that really got Face To Face off the ground. Riddle’s bass is more complex in parts, some guitar muting and harmonics, and a catchy, layered chorus helped the album sell too fast for the label, which is why my copy of this, as well as the Disconnected single released the next year, were on Fat Wreck Chords. “No Authority” is here, rerecorded, and with a new intro with just drums and then some bass added. It’s essentially the same song apart from that, but the better production helps it to sound a little less lacklustre.
Most of the best songs on Don’t Turn Away are in the middle of the record. “I Want” sees Keith starting to flirt with the higher strings on his guitar, and while the riffs are still simple enough that even the writer of this review can play them with his notorious “spazz-hands”, they’re some of the better ones on the album, and Keith’s vocals are on relatively good form. The lyrical content which looks for solutions from negative situations became the quintessential Face To Face song. “You’ve Got A Problem” is a more accusatory, aggressive song, and was the one used by Fat on their first record sampler. That seems a bit odd, given that “You’ve Got A Problem” doesn’t sound either representative of the record, or a top track.
“Everything Is Everything” slows the pace a little, and the backing vocals range from major presence in the chorus call and response (well, call and “ahh ahh ahh
After an increasingly strong sequence, “Nothing New” sounds sluggish and flat, Keith’s vocals dip in form, and higher guitar notes don’t save the listener from feeling underwhelmed. “Walk Away” tries to be more energetic, but more vocals in the same vein as the Blondie cover and an uninspired chorus really leave you feeling as though the album’s starting to do as so many have and run out of steam.
Before you give up on the album, some bass and rolling drums bring in “Do You Care?” This energetic number sees better vocals, better harmonies, and a better chorus, providing a much needed lynchpin to the record. With the wheels still on, the album closes on a mediocre note, with vocals veering either side of form, but it does enough to not leave a bitter aftertaste.
The Disconnected single gets skipped over because its B-sides can be found on Over It. The split with Horace Pinker also gets ignored because it opens up a can of worms too many (I’m not reviewing Horace Pinker here), and of the two tracks Face To Face provide, one is on Over It, and the other is a painful Violent Femmes cover.
Chad Yaro was added as a second guitarist somewhere along the line, and Over It appears to be a trial for the band formula as much as it was a trial for the record label. The first half of the EP contains rehashed songs from Don’t Turn Away with this slightly fuller sound. “I Want” opens proceedings with a slightly protracted intro, and a quicker pace than the LP version. While not disgracing the original, it’s not quite as good, as “I Want” worked well at the tempo it had. “Nothing New” doesn’t sound very different at all save for the different backing vocals. This version of “Disconnected” was the version that became popular and made a name for the band, and while I prefer the more basic version on the album, this version stands up just as well with the extra meat from the guitars.
The excellent “A-OK” is the only pick of the bunch here, and it would be released on Big Choice the next year to be a highlight. Pounding drums, good vocals, great guitars, and some space for the bass to break out make for an infectious song that fares as well as anything on Don’t Turn Away. I can’t imagine why they decided to mess with the formula for playing it live, I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Like “A-OK”, “I Used To Think” was a B-side on the Disconnected single. A menacing start gives way to a pretty solid song, but it’s the uplifting backing vocals that steal the show from Keith’s chorus.
“Don’t Turn Away” gets rehashed in the same way that the first three tracks did, and while it’s a significant improvement over the original, it’s still not a great song. It’s energetic enough, unlike the moping start of “Not Enough”. However, this song, from the Horace Pinker split, turns out to be a great song. Despite not containing anything particularly outstanding, and a negative, defeatist mantra, the song somehow manages to come across as uplifting. The elusive concept of changing of pace rears its head to give the listener that shot-in-the-arm effect a couple of times to round out what can best be described as a decent quality collection of scraps.
No Authority is really only for collectors, Disconnected is in the same boat, the split with Horace Pinker is only of value to Horace Pinker fans, and Over It is good but derives too much from other records. Being unable to decide whether the dynamic is one of a high bass and low guitar duelling, or a more rangy power trio, and being unable to even confirm whether or nor Trever Keith can sing, a classic record Don’t Turn Away is not. Being simplistically upbeat, catchy, relatable, and something you can sing along to without relying on high speed and boisterous yelling, a great record Don’t Turn Away is. It rates highly because it manages to kick arse without doing anything special, although I do wonder if I’d rate it higher if it were recorded in one go. If you dig that sort of rock, pick this up. If you’re looking for some more intelligent craft, try Ignorance Is Bliss and the So Why Aren’t You Happy? EP, or try a different band.
Personal picks: I Want (old), A-OK, Not Enough, I’m Trying, Pastel
Picks for others: Disconnected (new), I’m Trying, A-OK, I Want (old), Do You Care?
Relative weaknesses: You’ve Done Nothing, Walk Away, One Way Or Another
Tracklist
No Authority
01 – No Authority (old)
02 – Don’t Turn Away (old)
03 – One Way
Don’t Turn Away
01 – You’ve Done Nothing
02 – I’m Not Afraid
03 – Disconnected (old)
04 – No Authority (new)
05 – I Want (old)
06 – You’ve Got A Problem
07 – Everything Is Everything
08 – I’m Trying
09 – Pastel
10 – Nothing New (old)
11 – Walk Away
12 – Do You Care?
13 – 1000 X
Over It
01 – I Want (new)
02 – Nothing New (new)
03 – Disconnected (new)
04 – A-OK
05 – I Used To Think
06 – Don’t Turn Away (new)
07 – Not Enough
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