Punk Rock Supergroup Fake Names' Self-Titled Debut Doesn't Quite Sound Like Minor Threat

I’ve got to say this is far from the sound I was expecting from a supergroup of such caliber built from the Hardcore Punk scene, but I wouldn’t say that’s an inherently bad thing. I didn’t even realize that I was listening to a band comprised of figures as legendary as Bad Religion, Minor Threat and Dag Nasty member Brian Baker, but that’s exactly what Fake Names is. He’s joined by guitarist MIchael Hampton who has been in countless important bands like Embraced with Ian Mackaye and S.O.A. with Henry Rollins, as well as Refused singer Dennis Lyxzen and Girls Against Boys bassist Johnny Temple. Despite the obvious Hardcore Punk pedigree behind the band they are making music much closer to Foo Fighters than Minor Threat, which isn’t inherently a bad thing. They definitely show some promise with this sound, with a couple of powerful tracks backed by strong melodies. There are definitely some gaps left unfilled here though, as there are a handful of spottier moments that make this a promising, yet mixed debut.

As far as the background the band’s members have from legendary Punk acts goes, there are only a couple moments that truly branch out into Punk territory. Brick is a notable example of this, with a main riff that really grabs the listener by the throat and doesn’t let go. This is one of the only tracks that finds Dennis doing what he does best and really getting in people’s faces too, and as a result it’s definitely one of the most energetic tracks on here. In terms of structure though, the track still much more resembles the Alternative Rock sound they’ve got going when it comes to the hook. They honestly fare better throughout the album when they really embrace that different sound too, as Brick feels more like a token Punk track that they felt everybody would expect. Songs like Being Them, Darkest Days and Weight are so much better, as the band sounds so much more comfortable doing stuff like this. This is much more accessible and popular sounding music than what these guys are known for, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re writing weaker material. These three songs have really awesome choruses and hard hitting guitar riffs that kept me coming back, and the band sounds pretty comfortable writing stuff like that. When this album really clicks, it sounds awesome knowing that these Punk veterans are making the kind of music that they want to make regardless of expectations.

While this might be a departure from the norm for these guys as individual musicians, it’s realistically pretty regular in terms of what the rest of the music world is used to. I made a Foo Fighters comparison earlier that really sticks, but I want to make it clear that this critique is not a diss at those guys whatsoever. I absolutely love that band, as they’ve been one of my all time favorites since I was five years old. As I’ve grown up though, I’ve noticed that there is definitely a good bit of filler throughout the Foos’ discography (despite me still adoring them). If anything, Fake Names sounds like a watered down version of Dave Grohl and company, giving us a very similar sound with quite a bit less variety. This is kind of just really plain and straightforward Rock music, so much so that it’s honestly even hard to give it a subgenre in a lot of ways. It’s just exactly what you think of when you think of a Rock band, straightforward rhythms and Pop song structures bolstered by distorted guitars. That’s all this really is when you take a good hard look at it, and they just don’t have a lot of bells and whistles going on to make themselves stand out. That’s once again not something that’s bad all on it’s own, as the Punk bands these guys are legends for being a part of definitely weren’t huge on the gimmicks either. However, this is just simply a sound that everybody has heard a million times. There are enough interesting takes on the genre to make this an enjoyable listen for what it is, but I’m afraid there aren’t enough to make many people want to come back often at all.

For as plain and predictable of an album as this is, I’ve got to give the band credit for at least not sucking much at all. I might have found myself a little bit bored by what I heard here as I’ve heard it all before, but there are never any moments where I wanted it to be turned off. These guys, despite all living their musical primes in the 80’s, never once made a song that sounded super dated or cheesy. They certainly left me wanting more from songs like Driver that ruin fantastic guitar parts with super average vocal melodies, but this could have been so much worse. I always try to be respectful of veteran musicians who are still making any music whatsoever 40 years into their careers, as I can only hope that I will still be involved in the music world 40 years from now. Brian Baker is 55 years old now, and between this and the newest Bad Religion album he’s proven that he can still play with the best in the genre. The Refused reunion might not have held a candle to albums as important as The Shape of Punk to Come, but it still reminded everybody that Dennis was still a strong vocalist. As for the rest of the band members, this is merely a return to the spotlight after at least a decade away from the stage. That legacy should go to show that it doesn’t even matter if this Fake Names debut sets the world on fire, because they were already all there for the first time they participated in doing so. Even if this isn’t incredible, it always just makes me happy to hear from musicians that have been around for so long, still pumping out energetic music like this.

This isn’t the kind of album that gets me super excited to show to all my friends and get them on the hype train, but it’s also not a bad album and it certainly could have been much worse. It’s cool to see old musicians being a part of something new, and while they didn’t give us a home run they also didn’t necessarily swing and miss. I think there is still quite a lot of hope that we might see a fantastic record from Fake Names, a band with so much Punk Rock star power that I feel obliged to keep my eyes on what they do next. If Bad Religion continues dropping new records and the Refused reunion keeps Dennis busy, it might be awhile before we hear from these guys again. However, I would love to see them join the ranks of other supergroups like The Damned Things that have put out some pretty solid stuff recently. The self titled debut from Fake Names is an enjoyable, let relatively average start from a Punk Rock supergroup with names as legendary as these guys have. It doesn’t sound like what Refused and Bad Religion fans would likely expect it to sound like, but it’s still worth a couple spins even though it’s not going to blow anyone away. - 6/10 (Best Songs - Being Them, Darkest Days, Weight)