Review: S.T.U.N.

S.T.U.N.
“Evolution Of Energy”
(Geffen / Interscope)

Hailed as having the punk sensibilities of bands like The Clash and The Sex Pistols, with sounds like The Pixies and S.E.A., S.T.U.N. (Scream Toward the Uprising of Non-Conformity) hits the scene with their debut 6/24/03. The band has an old school punk sound that totally reminds me of ’80s skateboard music, although it’s way less distorted and comes through clean and strong. Lyrically, the songs are very political and rebellious, with subjects like encroachment on personal space (“Movement”), “Boredom,” “Annihilation Of The Generations” and lots of talk about revolution (“Here Comes The Underground,” “We Want You,” “The Future Is Now,” “We Will Come For You”).

Even the “love” songs are a bit heavy handed in the lyrics department. However, this is a really good album. The lyrics are strong but intelligent and the vocal delivery by Christiane J. is clear and easy to understand. The music is catchy and often very upbeat in contrast to some of the most serious lyrics. Considering S.T.U.N. (Neil Spies – songwriter/guitarist/vocals, Nick S. – bass, Bobby Alt – drums, Christiane J. – lead vocals) has been together less than 3 years, they’ve put together one hell of a punk album with all the right ingredients.