Punchline-Superfly

Pure Rock Records
2012


Intro tracks are supposed to pull you in and make you inspired/hopefully for what is to follow. I can't imagine then that anyone would be inspired to continue on to the rest of "Superfly" after the sounds of an airport terminal. Being the trooper I am I carried on though and two observations strike me right from the start. The first is the that album artwork seems all wrong. To me it conveys a hair metal/sleaze affair which is most certainly not the case. The second observation is can these three guys really be from Germany? They really sound as if they should be a west coast outfit. Anyway, Punchline could best be described as alternative hard rock although even that title is a bit off. Starting things off (after that intro of course) is the title cut and for better or worse it comes of as late 90s alternative rock. Early on the album came off as more retro then anything (some alternative rock, some grunge, some punk, etc-you get the picture), but by the time "Killing Me" kicks in I'm beginning to feel a bit more helpful and intrigued. While the promo states "modern-rock-fans will absolutely love PUNCHLINE" I'd say the band would more realistically appeal to those who loved 90's rock (again, the alternative rock, grunge, punk, etc that all mixed and morphed together) then modern rock fans. What's interesting as well about Punchline is the man fronting the three-piece. Punchline is lead by Jörg Juraschek and, while that name might not ring familiar, he is partly responsible for an album that both Metal Mark and I enjoy. Lead singer/bassist Jörg Juraschek was also the singer and bassist for Warrant (no, not that Warrant, but rather the original one) who released “The Enforcer” on Noise Records in 1985. That Warrant was a nice and nasty thrash outfit and, while Punchline sounds nothing like Warrant, it is interesting to see a guy like that go from one extreme to another. Anyhow, back to Punchline and names tossed about on the promo include Weezer, Green Day and Sum 41. The later two are pretty close, at least riff wise, as there is a lot of punk-pop and punk metal floating under the surface, although let's be clear about one thing, neither of these acts are as focused on straight ahead post hard rock/grunge as Punchline is. There is some Nirvana/Soundgarden as well Gruntruck to be found so its safe to say that Punchline will appeal to those of you that loved the nineties (after that one song came along and mercifully killed off the hair metal/pop metal scene) or those that enjoy bass heavy, alternative hard rock.