“Satan cut the brakes, Satan cut the brakes” cries Bonnie Fraser, on the aptly titled ‘doomsday’. It’s an introduction that rockets like an out of control car speeding down a highway, weaving in and out somewhere between the upbeat chimes of a bubblegum pop track and a grungey rock number, showing that the band are continuing their quest to have the best production in the business. To open your record with potentially the most earwigging, catchy track on it takes guts, or perhaps Stand Atlantic just don’t care about anything but making music that they think sounds just bloody fantastic. This ballsy attitude makes its way straight into the lyrics of the next track, and previously released single ‘pity party’; “Fuck you, and your fucking pity party, I’m not invited and I don’t ever wanna be”, a chorus begging to be screamed from the rooftops.
‘van gogh’ brings us another utmost belter of a chorus. How the band figured out which songs to release as singles is beyond our comprehension at this point. Truly, by taking elements of all their preceding endeavours, the band have managed to once again push well beyond the boundaries set by their previous two records Pink Elephant and Skinny Dipping whilst still retaining the grounded, relatable identity they engineered on their 2017 EP Sidewinder.
In fact, it’s almost criminal that fourth track ‘dumb’ wasn’t selected for release before the launch of this record, considering how the band instead chose to debut this song on their UK tour back in February. Each member of the band is given plenty of opportunity to shine on ‘Dumb’, the way Jonno and Potter‘s guitar and the drums wrap around each other so seamlessly gives the record an almost Prodigy-esque “was that a real instrument or an electronic?” quality that only serves to reinforce the dance characteristics of the songs. This is more apparent on ‘hair out’ than ever, with the use of chopped up samples of Bon‘s own vocal takes and slide in/slide out faders on select parts of the track, where chatter from the bands time in the studio has been left in for comedic effect.
After the album’s debut single ‘deathwish’, released way back in April 2021, we get smacked with a stonking riff backed by blaring synths in ‘switchblade’, something that could be musically the heaviest track Stand Atlantic have released to date. Now, by no means are we trying to tell you they’ve made a through and through metal track, far from it, but the pounding of the drums and the down-tuned, outright violent notes of the guitar in this track are absurd for a record of this nature. ‘switchblade’ is a powerful track, and a standout not just for this record but in the bands entire music catalogue at the time of F.E.A.R.‘s release. Immediately following this, ‘Nails’ retains the dance factor that runs through the core of this record whilst throwing in both acoustic and gently strummed electric guitar, invoking vibes of the band’s Skinny Dipping era.
Succeeding tracks ‘bloodclot’ and ‘don’t talk [to me]’ turn it down another notch, but the rhythm stops for no one, keeping a chipper, upbeat tempo despite the downtrodden lyricism in both these songs. Hearing this record played front to back would be an absolute party, somehow Stand Atlantic keep setting the bar higher and higher, carrying with them the familiar woes of mental health scuffles met with jesting, carefree aplomb that’s seen bands like The Wombats and Blink 182 climb to the heights of arena headline tours. With the band steadily climbing in the capacity of live venue they can successfully headline, it feels only a matter of time before the band break out into the big leagues and become one of the most successful and cherished bands in the entire music scene.
The album takes it’s final bow with the moody, angry ‘cabin fever (feat. “my literal mum”)’, a grungey, persecuted track that leaves a heavy dent on the soul, the only respite off the back of this one is the 40 seconds of band chatter left at the end of the record to snap you back to reality. Stand Atlantic went against the conventions of being either a pop act or a rock band, instead crafting a masterwork completely free and devoid of any and all expectations outside of their own musicians whims. The result of which, F.E.A.R., is a bombastic, proud bundle of perfect chaos. Every moment feels like it could have been both meticulously planned, or thrown in last minute for the hell of it; it sounds incredible from the beginning and until to the very end. Stand Atlantic as they exist in 2022 are an undeniable spectacle, a band that’s rising rapidly through the ranks without any sense of superficial standing or label bolstered shenanigans, these four Aussie upstarts are in an entire league of their own right now, whether they know it or not.