Autoignition – Against The World
Autoignition has been quietly… actually, no, loudly taking over Buffalo’s pop punk scene since their inception in 2021. We’ve been excited to hear what they’ve been up to since we heard a brand new single, “Not For Nothing,” a few months ago. After three (3) years between releases, the band has finally dropped a five-song EP, Against The World, a collection of songs that’s probably exactly what you’d be expecting from this super raucous quartet. Plan for full-throttle pop punk with angsty vocals around a massive, guitar-driven core… And a few big bass lines that would make Mark Hoppus proud. We can’t ignore the sheer energy found here on Against The World, so for that reason (and a few more), it’s our Album of the Week this week.
Speaking of Hoppus-esque bass lines, the album starts out strong with the aforementioned “Not For Nothing.” This song is Autoignition at their most single-worthy – they made it easy for their listeners and started out strong. “Not For Nothing” is full of hooks, twinkly chorus-y guitars, chuggy palm mutes, and vocals meant to be screamed in sweaty faces from some shitty dive bar stage. Multiple vocalists all screaming their heart out – “If I remain in this coffin I’ll run out of air / Six feet underground just doesn’t compare / to my loved ones I shut out I miss you so bad / Now I’d do anything for the life we once had.” You can almost see fans/friends/other bands running on the stage to take over during this part. If you start anywhere on Against The World, start here.
Song two, “185” bites with more straightforward punk snarl. Drums switch between the genre-standard D-beat and a blistering punk frenzy, acknowledging their skate punk roots without sacrificing the melody and driving energy that keeps these songs ultra-listenable. Octave chords chime left and right, swirling around your head with limitless energy. In “185,” you can really hear the band’s influences – any fan of Through Being Cool or Drive Thru Records’ early oeuvre will love what they hear here. Same goes for the “Icy, Icy Eyes,” which brings late ’90s flavors in spades. Something about the harmonies on the recurring motif here (e.g. “I’ll Pretend” or “Won’t Go Back”) take you right back to playing Tony Hawk on your older brother’s Playstation – and that’s a long-lost feeling that lots of people would love to evoke.
The band never strays too far from their roots, but “Buzzer” whirls with a slightly different energy – powered by a high gain guitar soaked in watery chorus, the band rides the chiming high over more punk grittiness. By the time you make it through the white-knuckle rollick of “Selective Silence,” you’ll be beyond ready to get into the pit at the next Autoiginition show. Give this one a full send and tell me you’re not ready to scream “I don’t give a shit about anything you say” surrounded a bunch of other, like-minded pop-punkers.
Against The World is out now on Static Era Records. You can find all the ways to support Autoignition via this helpful little link.
Categorised in: Album of the Week
This post was written by Nick Sessanna