New Music: We Never Sleep by Fresh Hell
Local pop-punk act Fresh Hell has released their debut album We Never Sleep.
The release of the album is awesome news to anyone who has seen Fresh Hell over the past year salivating to bring home their music. The album is a ten-song effort that stays very true to the bands live sound. You notice right away the immense difference in sound between the two singers/guitarists Steve McCrimmon (from Dead Weights) and Cory Levesque, but it really works. Steve has this ridiculously raspy voice (punk rock Tom Waits is how I have referred to him in the past) and Cory has an excellent pop-punk voice with just enough bleeding heart tucked into the back of it. The rest of the band is rounded by the rhythm section of Devin Cook on bass (Finderskeepers) and Vance McBride (Jon Becker & the Northfields).
We Never Sleep kicks off with the ultra-catchy “Old Sheets,” which has an excellent musical intro capped off by a Steve scream followed by Cory’s soft voice (your first taste). The album really packs a punch from song 6 to 8 with “Home,” “Surrounded” and “Cold.” These are the three songs that have really caught my attention live and it’s sweet to have them all in a row on the album. “Home” is a little more on the poppier side, then “Surrounded” brings back the punk rock ethos with lyrics like, “You got home, you got low, you fucked up and I know, you wake up, surrounded, surrounded.” The trifecta is concluded by maybe their strongest track, “Cold.” Chock-full of harmonies, sing-a-long potential, and Steve’s belting voice during the final line “I still light my cigarette but it is too cold to smoke the rest,” that really captures the chilling feelings in the song. They conclude the album with the title track and just like that it is time to hit repeat and listen to the album again.
We Never Sleep is currently available on bandcamp as pay what you can and will soon be pressed on vinyl. Fresh Hell announced that all the money they collect through digital purchases on bandcamp will go to Ottawa Rock Camp for Girls, a three-day rock n roll camp for girls aged 13-17 who want to learn how to play guitar, bass or drums. So why not support an awesome cause and get some sweet music at the same time?