White Lung - Paradise

White Lung
Paradise
2016
Spotify

Paradise is the fourth studio album from Vancouver punk outfit White Lung and it is perhaps their most polished, most refined and most accessible record. The shift to pop is always a tenuous one for punk kids, it usually means abandoning much of the fan base who got you where you were for an even larger base on the other side. Green Day did it, Blink-182 did it and it will continue to be done ad infinitum. Canadian Punks however have seemed to have an easier go of it when making that shift, and the results of a little more pop creeping in are fantastic on this new record. Paradise is much bigger than their previous albums exploring space and sound in way that is just as aggressive but not as exclusive. Mish Barber-Way, the front woman of the group, makes some interesting writing choices sometimes taking on the character of a serial killer or southern wife. Often when someone writes something they don't really know the results are mediocre but Barber-Way someone pulls you in with her delivery and passion. Each note feels worked out and argued about as if the band is pulling each bit the get with all their might. The music feels very much like the early days of emo with Sunny Day Real Estate and others where on a whim it could burst out into a mosh pit level aggression while talking about love.

Deep Fantasy the bands previous release got characterized and feminist punk due to much of Barber-Way's lyrical content and some of her statements surrounding the record. There are times where you could claim the same on Paradise but they feel less like a plea and more like a statement of fact. Barber-Way knows what's right and is not afraid to throw those facts in your face. Clocking in at just 28 minutes, short by even some punk standards, Paradise kicks the door in, fucks shit up and leaves quickly just like any good punk album should. However where they have staying power is that these tracks are quite catchy and invite you to participate and sing along from the very first moment. White Lung are asking everyone to come up to their level and feel with them. Most of the record is so visceral and raw that you find yourself getting lost in the music and it effecting you right to the core. As with many punk albums Paradise end abruptly another sign of how fleeting everything really is. Paradise is an album without fear and without restraint. You can tell that this is exactly what the band wanted to do and wanted to say, and we are thankful for it.

8.1 out of 10