Violent Dazzling, The - Johnny Panic

.../> Debut LP "The Violent Dazzling" is not perfect but it is still an excellent album, and it is better than certain over-hyped albums that have been massively successful recently (cough... "X&Y"... cough...). Twelve tracks stuffed with power-pop harmonies but also enough riffery to please the rockers, topped off with choruses to lift the lids off stadiums, catchy hooks and a radio-friendly melodic rock sheen, and it's surprising ...
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Musically, "The Violent Dazzling" showcases Johnny Panic's youthful energy for rocking out. It's influenced by American pop, punk and rock in parts, but JP betray their British roots in that they don't go as OTT or cheesy as Americans tend to. The lyrics and artwork lust after change, with a bit more authenticity than the likes of Good Charlotte. Cynically you might say that they keep their lyrics intentionally vague to appeal ... more

Little-known cult band Johnny Panic are one of those Bands That Should Be A Bit Bigger Than They Actually Are. Despite having a style like Green Day with a touch of the Manic Street Preachers, they have been largely ignored by magazines such as Kerrang!, which is surprising as you'd expect them to feature this kind of band all the time.

Debut LP "The Violent Dazzling" is not perfect but it is still an excellent album, and it is better than certain over-hyped albums that have been massively successful recently (cough... "X&Y"... cough...). Twelve tracks stuffed with power-pop harmonies but also enough riffery to please the rockers, topped off with choruses to lift the lids off stadiums, catchy hooks and a radio-friendly melodic rock sheen, and it's surprising they're not massive yet.

Opener "Minority Of One" (I think the title was inspired from the Mahatma Ghandi quote inside the artwork booklet: "Even in a minority of one, the truth is still the truth") is a good rock track based around a simple riff with catchy "oh-oh-oh-oh" bits in the chorus.

"Free Winona" has a more aggressive-sounding start (although it soon becomes more laid-back) and a more distinctive riff than "Minority of One". More on the rock side (guitar solos etc) and less on the punk side.

"Warn You" has melodramatic-sounding guitar-playing and vocals, sounds like a 1990s Manic Street Preachers single (there's even a talky bit in the middle), with the catchiest chorus of the album so far (It's one of those albums that gets better as it goes along, instead of playing all its aces in the first half). It also has a touch of "Use Your Illusion"-era Guns N' Roses about it, especially in the speech in the middle and the mini guitar solo.

The 'A'-esque "Hurt (I See You Around)" is a dramatic-sounding melodic rock song, almost soaring, and one of the few songs on this album that almost approaches balladry (even though, like all the other songs, it isn't slow).

"Automatic Healer" starts off as vaguely reminiscent of emo, but has one of the most Blink 182-esque, commercial, pop-punk choruses on the album. Catchy cigarette lighter-waving fun that should appeal to kids who are growing out of Busted.

The anthemic rock anthem "Burn Your Youth" has awesomely catchy hooks and could have been a much bigger hit than it actually was. Beside the sharp riff, "oh-oh-oh"s in the verses and stadium-sized chorus lie lyrics about teen issues like trying to find truth and serious news stories in a shallow, celeb-obsessed media. It is a highlight of the album, apart from the downside of some parts of the second half going on a bit too long (possibly the reason for its surprising lack of chart success?), making it less "immediate" than the first half. However overall it's a great song and those with fond memories of American Hi-Fi's "Flavor Of The Weak" or the Manics' "The Masses Against The Classes" would like it. Got a good review in the NME too.

"Shut Up With Your Silence" is darker and a tad heavier, with the bass part particularly noticeable, especially in the verses. Great stuff too, although a bit more of a grower and less immediate, it features dramatically whooping guitar bits between verses and a bit of a solo near the end.

The Oasis-esque "Chemical Girlfriend" sounds like one of those modern garage rock 'n' roll bands that feature in the likes of NME and Kerrang!, but with a bit more sophistication than the likes of Jet. It sports huge drumming in the verses and a catchy, shouty chorus. Not crude at all, although the end is odd - the song just stops rather abruptly.

"Coming Up Roses" is the only song that really comes near being a ballad, just about restraining itself from going too deeply into chest-beatingly all-American OTT rawk power-ballad territory (Johnny Panic are British, after all). Very much like American Hi-Fi (e.g. "Another Perfect Day" and "Safer On The Outside"), or perhaps slightly like Embrace, Snow Patrol or Cheap Trick. Gentle rock balladry to slowly sway to, without "This is an epic power ballad! Get your cigarette lighters out!" stamped all over it.

After a pause between tracks, "Constitution Blues" kicks in - one of the harder, harsher tracks like "Shut Up With Your Silence", only catchier and not quite so dark-sounding.

"She Goes Again" is midtempo track, a bit like the Manics again, with a chugging riff. Not a bad track, although it rarely changes - there's very little difference between the verses and chorus, and the only real changes happen from the guitar solo onwards: then it starts getting more interesting. A good listen, but hardly likely to set live shows alight in the way that the album's anthems would.

"You're A Fool" is exuberant pogoing punk/rollicking rock 'n' roll and an explosive end to the album. If Sex Pistols copycats The Towers Of London sounded a little bit more like the '80s party rock bands they look like, they might sound like this.

Musically, "The Violent Dazzling" showcases Johnny Panic's youthful energy for rocking out. It's influenced by American pop, punk and rock in parts, but JP betray their British roots in that they don't go as OTT or cheesy as Americans tend to. The lyrics and artwork lust after change, with a bit more authenticity than the likes of Good Charlotte. Cynically you might say that they keep their lyrics intentionally vague to appeal to "the kids"... although it does seem JP know what they're talking about more than your average pop-punkers do, if the numerous quotes in the artwork and the "where is justice?" speech in "Warn You" are anything to go by. But this is such a good party album that, frankly, who cares? It should get teenagers all over the country bopping, pogoing and airguitaring in their bedrooms, and surely that's not a bad thing.
The only real problem is finding it - it took me ages to find it, I lookied everywhere from a huge Virgin Megastore in London to an independent record shop in Worthing, and eventually I found it going cheap in the sales in a couple of ordinary high-street shops in Chichester. (Why it should be available in small HMV and MVC branches in a small town, but not in a huge London store that seemed to stock just about every record on earth, is a mystery.) My copy was only £2.99 - fantastic value for money! - and it is standard album price (around £10-11) on a lot of websites such as Amazon.
It is far from perfect, but it is a good, solid album, better than your average pop-punk, and worth checking out if you're into this sort of stuff. 3 to 4 stars out of 5.  

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