Album Review: The Anti-Circle by World Be Free

World Be Free, the new band featuring Terror vocalist Scott Vogel, Gorilla Biscuits/CIV’s Sammy Siegler and Arthur Smilios, Strife’s Andrew Kline, and Joe Garlipp of Despair and Envy (the NY band), release their debut album The Anti-Circle this week via Revelation Records .

The Anti-Circle references many of the band member’s former/current careers and that perfectly fine by us. For a change the sound is coming from people who lived the hardcore and punk scenes in it pomp rather than it being another revival or homage. Does that make it any better? No. It does add that all important level of punk credibility though.

Throughout the album the talent within World Be Free is obvious; however it isn’t a particularly exciting or enthralling album. Whilst you will find some of the tracks electrifying such as opener ‘World Be Free’, the Walter Schreifels guesting ‘I’m Done’ and the excellent ‘Sammy’s Mirror’. On all these tracks you’ll find the driving rhythms, thunderous guitars and raucous lyrics exhilarating. Along with ‘All These Colors’ and ‘Of My Word’ they’re the only tracks that come in over 2 minutes.

The other 9 tracks are short and not particularly snappy. The blend and blur into one indistinguishable mass. In theory there’s nothing wrong with short punk songs, yet here each one falls foul of sounding like it has been rushed and isn’t the finished article. The majority of The Anti-Circle sounds like filler and ends up being unimaginative and close to boring.

While the members of World Be Free lived the scene and are members of legendary bands within hardcore and punk, it’s important that The Anti-Circle be viewed as a standalone project and critiqued on its own merits. Unfortunately it doesn’t have many and ends up quite the damp squib.

AD Rating: 5/10