panthers

let’s get serious

‘The Panthers have followed the path of bands toning down their sound. It’s awfully reminiscent of the course taken by the Refused members, who went on to form the International Noise Conspiracy.

Panthers is primarily made up of members of ex-super-hardcore band Orchid, and also the highly touted instrumental outfit Turing Machine. Where Orchid was once tough as nails, Panthers now adds an artsy element to their sound. Their songs are a well-thought-out brand of New York post-punk that borders a little on garage, a little bit on bluesiness.

The band moves away from chords in favor of riffs. A couple of solo, heavily-distorted notes, a Moog synthesizer and high-mixed drums fill the void formerly filled by a wall of power chords. Singer Jason Green’s voice has even taken a step back – in both its forcefulness, and in the mix. It’s proof that less can truly be more. Aww, it’s punk rock all grown up.

This record, “Let’s Get Serious,” shows the deep impact of a collision between Orchid and Turing Machine. It has the hardcore, take-no-bullshit spirit of Orchid and the leave-not-even-the-most-nebulous-detail-to-chance philosophies of Turing Machine. Every note is intently formulated but, on the whole, the songs come off as spontaneous, improvisational. It’s calculated messiness.

The EP shows the band has great potential, but it could easily fall prey to a lazy-man’s categorization of them as a Strokes rip-off. Nothing could be further from the truth, really. Rather, this should be filed among the set of bands that will soon dance their own rite of independent popularity. They should be grouped in with the likes of These Arms Are Snakes and Pretty Girls Make Graves.

Keep an eye out for Panthers. They are bound to be one of the next big indie bands.