Hailing from the town of New Braunfels, Texas is the one-man street punk band Breakaway with their latest EP, “Warrior.” Breakaway was formed by David Burke in September 2019 after a period of brokenness and emptiness to bring the truth of Jesus Christ through the avenue of punk rock. Taking on a unique blend of street punk and Oi! subgenres, David provides Christ-centered, scripture-based lyrics as a witness to a dark world. Prior to releasing “Warrior,” Breakaway have released an EP “These Days are Dead” in 2020 and full length “Sword and Shield” in 2022.
I am not as well versed in punk as in metal, but I am growing to love the genre as a whole. My fellow reviewer John has given me some homework to stretch my ears with hardcore punk, but when I ran across Oi! mentioned as a style, I knew I had more to learn. Browsing Spotify and talking with Dr. Google, I was able to piece together what to expect on this release.
At just under fifteen minutes, this EP showcases five songs of passionate, high energy punk. As is common to punk, there is a simpler approach to the music, leaning more on the heart of the musician and the message being proclaimed. That being said, the music is interesting and keeps my attention rather well. The vocals border on the line of Oi! and hardcore where there is more forceful gang delivery over melody.
The songwriting retains much of the underlying punk flavor in simpler chord progressions and fast tempos. There are some nice breakdowns along to give the listener a breather. Keeping all songs of a similar approach I think is appropriate for an EP, whereas for a full length I would’ve liked some slower, possibly mellow tracks mixed in on a longer release. However the simpler approach makes the transition between “So be it” and “Refuge” sound like it is one song because of the similarities in the riffs between the two.
As mentioned, the vocals border on hardcore with shouted passion, but retains a melodic pitch and rhythm that make palatable. There are gang vocal approaches with almost a hooligan crowd vibe. The guitar work is pretty solid. I enjoyed the different riffs and variations in the riffs by adding in palm mutes here and there. The lead work is straight forward, but works quite well with the rest of the music. The beats could have come up a little in the mix, but otherwise lay down a solid foundation for the songs.
The highlight for me are the lyrics. These are heartfelt personal testimonials that manage to not be cheesy, coming from a heart turned towards Christ, working well with the street punk approach. The lyrics from the title track sum up the ministry of Breakaway quite succinctly:
Some will say and some will do
I have decided to follow you
Screaming out against the dark
In a world that has gone so far
Away from you
There is a slight DIY feel to the production where the volumes are a little lower than commercial releases and there are some idiosyncratic mixing work on the breakdowns. It did not detract much from the release for me because I just up the volume and dive into the music. Maybe a little more compression in the mastering process would help, but otherwise not too much of an issue.
For the punks out there, this is a release definitely worth checking out, especially if you track with Thumper Punk Records. Their sound aligns close to Dispraised that I reviewed last year with high energy and uncompromisingly positive Christian lyrics. This is real Christian Punk designed to build you up and tear down the strongholds of evil!
Rating: 8.0/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – So Be It
2 – Refuge
3 – Iron Sharpens Iron
4 – Never Forsaken
5 – Warrior
Breakaway is:
David Burke – guitars, bass, vocals, and beats
Release Date: April 8, 2024
Record Label: Thumper Punk Records
Discography:
Those Days Are Dead – EP (2020)
Sword and Shield (2022)
Warrior – EP (2024)
Social Media: Facebook | Spotify | Bandcamp |