Album review: American Television – “Scars”

Smartpunk Records – 22 Sep 2023

(disclaimer – former American Television guitarist* Jerred Lazar is also a contributor and reviewer here at TGEFM. However, I have been a fan of the band’s music before my professional and personal relationships with the members, and those relationships in no way influence my review of the album. *He departed the band on good terms recently due to a long-distance move.)

The world may try to beat you down, but what can you do but get back up. Now there’s a soundtrack to it.

…and who knows this better than Washington DC’s American Television and, well, a handful of other bands as well? Earlier this summer AMTV and others had the rug pulled out from under their feet, all through the alleged misconduct of a single person. When Anti-Flag‘s Justin Sane was credibly accused of sexual misconduct (with more victims finding their voices since), there was an understandable desire for many bands on Anti-Flag’s marquee label A-F Records to terminate their association. Regrettably, this forced many acts, already in the promotional stages for their upcoming albums, to quickly change gears. Luckily AMTV was able to find a new home at Smartpunk for their new album Scars.

So was it worth the effort? Well, I think this is as much Smartpunk’s win as it is American Television’s.

Scars is the band’s sophomore LP, but not all is new in the world of AMTV as their 2018 tracks “Death Defier” (also the name of their collaboration blend with Weird Brothers Coffee) and “The Creek” also appear. But don’t let that fact keep you back. In many ways those two older songs slot well into the newer ones, making it a nice package front to back.

Lead Track “New Generation” sets the tone for the album and, at a lean 1m11s, you could fit over 7 1/2 times into a single play of “November Rain.” It sets the stage for the album by starting out loud and fast. The percussion is percussive and, cloyingly so, simple. Why is that? My guess is because the beat is driving and doesn’t want to give the gameplan away just yet. In its simplicity the song works as the warm-up (or apero, if you will) to get your blood pumping for what comes next. Because once it rolls into “I Am the Fire,” they pull out all of the stops. More energy, more creativity, a whole helluva lot more backing vocals. In fact, that last part is something that really establishes them, as AMTV has always been a band who are telling us something. The lyrics are a story and the vocals are an integral part of that presentation. It is one of the many selling points throughout the years.

Pre-release single “Bittersweet,” which also got the video treatment, is a mid-tempo punk song with a catchy hook, some nice palm mutes, and the percussion is in full bloom from the opener.

“Scars” shows why it earned the right to be the album title. From front to back it is catchy, but also painfully honest about how broken, well… everyone is. “We got scars / and open wounds” Indeed, and everyone has something, sometimes maybe a bit self-destructive it may be, to help us keep going.

The aforementioned “The Creek” closes everything out, and with good reason. It still stands as a great song, and admirably demonstrates one of my favorite compositional styles where the two guitars are on their own course throughout most of the run-time. Few band can pull this off (it is part of the reason I love Stereotyperider so much), and few can sustain it on an entire song. AMTV pulls this trick off often on the album, and each time it works. But “The Creek” is the best example.

Scars enjoys some very full production. The rhythm section is incredibly solid and present, perhaps to a fault as, while the percussion is nice and strong (and performed well), it might be a tad overproduced. I like to hear a bit of variation on the snare but here, each hit sounds about the same. Still, a minor qualm, but it gets awfully close to the “wall of sound” style that may be off-putting to some people. The bass is nice and rolly (is that a word?), the guitars and vocals strong and clear.

American Television travel in this realm between pop and melodic punk, with a bit of gruff thrown in for good measure. It’s catchy and enjoyable, and I’m hard-pressed to think of someone who wouldn’t enjoy a listen but, you know, there are all types out there. While the songs may not always be about this particular subject, a lot of what American Television does brings to mind the idea of standing tall against adversity and, even if you stumble, still getting back up. If you don’t feel pumped enough to take on the world by the time you’re done with this album, you’re probably either dead or like country music or something.