By Jonny Bakes
One of the highlights of writing for Über Rock is that I get to dive into debut albums from bands that are just emerging onto the scene. Today is one of those days as I get to grips with the debut full length release from Norwegian punk ‘n’ roll trio, Dead Target.
Formed in 2017, Dead Target started to build momentum in 2024 with the release of their first EP, ‘PUNX’, before spending the last year crafting ‘Still While it Spins’. The band draw on influences from ’90s and ’00s melodic punk and Scandinavian rock ‘n’ roll to deliver a sound that is nostalgic and familiar, but with their own unique spin. Citing influences such as Turbonegro, Green Day and Social Distortion, there’s bound to be something here that will excite a good chunk of people!
Clocking in at a mere 24 minutes, ‘Still While it Spins’ is definitely on the shorter side of albums, but still packs in ten tracks. Conveniently, it’s almost the perfect length for my morning commute, so definitely an album for those who find they’re a bit short on time! However, it also doesn’t give me a whole lot to write about, but I’ll give it a good go…
On first listen, ‘Still While it Spins’ feels like it blends into the background, like something that would have been on Kerrang Radio in the ’00s. There’s plenty of catchy punky hooks that make it an album that’s easy to listen to, but there’s not a huge amount that stands out either. While it may not have big stand out tracks, the album certainly isn’t lacking energy with blistering distorted guitar riffs layered over a high tempo rhythm, which is probably why the tracks only last a couple of minutes each as it can’t be easy to sustain that for a long period!
That being said, ‘Here Comes Trouble’ is the song that I remembered the most from my first listen, mostly because of the repeated title in the chorus. It has that classic punk rock “woah-oh” in the chorus that makes it easy to sing along to.
‘1998’ also stood out to me, but mostly because of the way it made me feel! Hearing bands singing about a band singing about being born in 1998 makes me feel like Steve Buscemi – “how are you doing, fellow kids”. The vocals carry more of the melody in this track than some of the others and does the heavy lifting leaving the guitar and drums to be more of a backdrop.
All in all, ‘Still While it Spins’ isn’t a bad album, but I didn’t find it a great album either. If this was playing in a bar, you wouldn’t be mad about it as it is quite a pleasant listen, however it’s not something I would necessarily seek out to listen to again.
That’s not to say that it won’t appeal to some people out there: if you’re looking for something to put in your collection besides the likes of Green Day and Turbonegro, then Dead Target might be just what you need.
Maybe this is a band that you need to catch live to get the full experience, and maybe if I did that then I might change my mind, but for now ‘Still While it Spins’ gets a distinctly neutral reaction in my house!
- ‘Still While it Spins’ is out now.
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