Outtacontroller – Sure Thing [IMPORT]– New LP

with a kick blend of pop and punk-rock punch, power pop at its finest, a mix of The Nerves and Cheap Trick, Dirtnap and the garage pop of the 1960s, soda pop with a shot of whiskey, good times with a cloud of melancholy hanging around without spoiling the fun or the forward motion that the school of Ramones taught us, the torch is passed like the last cigarette in the pack, take three chords and pass it on

  

fasterandlouderblog.blogspot.com (USA) March 2020 Outtacontroller has been around so long that it's kind of hard to believe that its new album Sure Thing is only its third full-length. The Halifax, Nova Scotia foursome was at the center of an incredible wave of Canadian-based powerpop/punk bands in the early 2010s. And while the band has customarily gone several years between albums, it has never really stopped being the quintessential buzz-saw punk/pop group. Longtime mainstays of the illustrious P. Trash Records (RIP), Outtacontroller have now turned up where almost every great powerpop/punk band eventually lands: Alien Snatch Records! Sure Thing does not mess with a winning formula. It sticks to Outtacontroller's signature style of power pop meets garage punk meets the almighty Ramones. The band delivers ten tracks of thumping punk pop that ought to be cranked loud in the car en route to a night of fun times. Sure Thing offers up a solid mix of Ramones-inspired punk tunes ("Glassy Eyes", "You For You"), powerful pop numbers ("Too Soon", "Operator"), and big hooky rockers ("Don't Need It") to get your head bobbing and your toes tapping. Singer/guitarists Terry A'hearn and James O'Toole handled the production themselves, and the record sounds absolutely great. Of course I'm a huge fan of this musical style, and Outtacontroller have put on a clinic on how to pull it off. Sometimes you don't need a band to reinvent the wheel. If you like good, simple punk tunes executed with energy and enthusiasm, you will be inclined to say that this is an album that very much lives up to its title.(Josh Rutlegde)
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rpmonline.co.uk (UK) March 2020 Wielding buzz saw guitars, power-punk riffs, and fuzzed-out garage vocals OUTTACONTROLLER comes crashing out of the gates of North End Halifax with frantic, gritty pop songs about girls, gumption, and graveyards. As soon as the first sonic blast hits the airwaves you know you’re in safe power pop punk rock hands as the familiar Ramones influence of lush melodies infuse with that caustic Buzzcocks raw guitar and skin-tight percussion. Hell as the record unfolds its like the layers of an onion as the influences get peeled away. The Boys, Ramones, Buzzcocks, as well as a whole host of chart lovelies from the 70s and 80s fill the airwaves. To be fair who wouldn’t be influenced by some top turns in the new wave punk rock scene ranging from Husker Du and the American alt scene or college radio days but always in the back of the engine room looms The Ramones. Songs like ‘Operator’ ease more into the laid back new wave category whilst I love the straight down the line rock and roll of ‘Nothing Comes From Nothing’ with its happy go lucky chord changes and gang vocals it gotta make you feel good and it bloody well does. The songs never outstay their welcome and they run through their set with consummate ease like their having the best of times and why wouldn’t they? ‘You For You’ rattles along as tight as hell with the treble up on the bass as it thumps out the rhythm towards the chorus. Great stuff. That buzz saw tempo is maintained for the next few tunes as we rattle along to the finale. Maybe if they used some keyboards you’d be hailing their Attractions influences but these guys don’t meddle too much with the formula and as we enter the home straight we double down on the Brudas gang vocals and melodies and wrap up a most enjoyable record. Nothing groundbreaking but like I say enjoyable none the less. They pay their respects to their forefathers and get lost in some great pop hooks along the way it certainly is a ‘Sure Thing’ that this was going to light up my day and have me singing along before I could even press loop on the old player. Power pop no matter how many bands play it as long as they do it well it always sounds great. (DD)
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50thirdand3rd.com (UK) March 2020 Halifax, power poppers OUTTACONTROLLER have been the purveyors of fine punked out power-pop for almost 10 years now and their latest LP ‘Sure Thing‘ is another triumph. It’s pretty straight forward really, OUTTACONTROLLER play old school super hooky power-punk held together with wads of bubblegum that brings to mind all the usual suspects from the 70s like Cheap Trick, the Nerves, and of course the Ramones. With an album cover featuring a 70s-era television and a song about telephone operators, perhaps the band is even alluding to the golden era. But influences aside, OUTTACONTROLLER has a lot more to offer than just a revival, these dudes know how to lay down a hook. ‘Sure Thing‘ is a solid record combining the power of power-pop, the looseness of punk and a love of sugary pop melodies so it’s hard to pick out a favorite. But tracks like the opener ‘Too Soon‘,’Hurry Up and Wait‘ and the cavity-inducing ‘Glassy Eyes‘ will certainly become lodged in your brain Every song comes in at under three minutes, but like we’ve said before; who needs three minutes for a song when the magic happens in two! (Stephen)
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elgiradiscos.com (ES) March 2020 La rueda lleva siglos inventada, pero sin ella el mundo se paralizaría. Outtacontroller tampoco inventan la rueda, pero después de llevar años en la carretera y hacer casi cinco años desde su último larga duración se descuelgan con otro vehículo repleto de riffs y desarrollos atemporales que no por mil veces oídos te suenan repetitivos. Los de Halifax, o sea básicamente, Terry A'hearn y James O'Toole, se han descolgado con diez nuevas canciones que aglutinan todos los esquemas que a los fans del punk y del power pop, o de su simbiosis, les abren el corazón. Juegan sobre seguro, por hacer un chascarrillo con el título de este, su tercer, larga duración. Un disco sólido donde los haya desde ese inicio catártico que es "Too Soon", con la urgencia del más acelerado punk, y que te retrotrae como no puede ser de otra manera a los grandes clásicos del género como si de unos incipientes Stiff Little Fingers se tratara, hasta la final "Flashpoint" y su "Ouh Yeah" que representa el punto de máxima ignición de los recuerdos más emblemáticos y canónicos del género. No hay ni un segundo de descanso, y el infeccioso coro de "Glassy Eyes" te inunda de power pop, de ese power pop iniciático de The Nerves y del espíritu de las grandes bandas ochenteras, como la aguerrida "Operator", plena de referencias desde su mismo título. "Nothing Come Nothing" es un puñetazo al estómago y el influjo de Buzzcocks rebosa en los coros rebeldes de pandillas alborotadoras a la salida del bar nocturno y que continúan en "For You" o en "Hurry Up and Wait". De eso se trata, de cervezas y buen rollo, y si por el camino se queda algún espejo retrovisor, pues qué se le va a hacer. "Sure Thing" es un disco sólido, bien construido, potente y enérgico como solo las grandes bandas del género han sido capaces de construir. Un disco para acelerar el coche, que no será el auto más despampanante del mundo, pero que discurre por carreteras conocidas y por ello la velocidad se hace amigable, disfrutable y segura, porque las ruedas en las que se apoyan parecen nuevas de lo que relucen. "Don't Need It" lo deja meridianamente claro. Un disco donde la magia de las canciones se resuelve en dos minutos ¿para que necesitan tres? (SP)

manierenversagen.de (GER) March 2020 Hey. Die Sonne scheint und die Straßen sind genauso leer wie die Köppe meiner Mitmenschen und die Regale im Supermarkt. Keine Konzerte, Kinos oder Kneipen geöffnet – also die perfekte Zeit, sich auf die Veranda zu hocken und die neue LP von Outtacontroller in voller Lautstärke den Nachbarn um die Ohren zu knallen. OK, eine Fensterbank oder ein Klo tuns auch, die 10 Songs von den 4 Kanadiern aus Halifax klingen überall ziemlich gut und wenn man mal drüber nachdenkt, ist die Akustik auf so einer Toilette bestimmt sogar besser als im Freien auf meiner großzügigen Front Porch. Außerdem bringt die Band diese optimistische Welle von Frühling und Scheißegal Stimmung mit, die so typisch für den kanadischen Power Pop Punk Rock ist. Ich brauch das gerade mal. Falls ihr mich sucht, ich sitz da vorne auf dem Schaukelstuhl.

voixdegaragegrenoble.blogspot.com March 2020: Déjà en regardant cette pochette on peut se faire une bonne idée de ce qu’on va entendre sur ce 3ème album : « 4 zazous qui prennent du fun en jouant une musique remuante »… Ces canadiens étaient jusque là passé sous mon radar (c’est peut-être pour ça qu’un de leur récent EP s’appelait ‘No echoe’). Mais je me dis que je vais rattraper vite mon retard ! Cependant je vais également, encore longtemps me raviver les oreilles avec ce ‘Sure thing’ !!! La vache ça fait du bien en ces temps morose de tomber sur ces chansons aussi enthousiaste et enthousiasmante ! Dès la 3ème écoute certaines chansons semblent faire partie de votre vie, comme tout droit sortie des compils Yellow Pills ! Et ce qui est formidable c’est pour entourer ces instant hits ils y a une collection de chansons toujours catchy et excitantes !
De la Power Pop par le versant sautillant ! Emballant. Euphorisant. Tout ce qu’on a aimé, aime, et aimera toujours dans le genre!

aliensnatch.com FEB 2020: I am a Rocker, I’m a Roller, I’m an OUTTACONTROLLER! Halifax, Novia Scotia’s own OUTTACONTROLLER unleash their next album after the exclusive killer EP "No Echo" on the spanish Jarama Records. Hell yeah, we loved the hit single "Cheap Leather Jacket" and spun it day-in and day-out. We’ve been full on fans of their fuzzed out BARRACUDAS surf pop and the perfect sing a long harmonies. For months our heads have been spinning from their album überhit "Glassy Eyes" - pure adrenalin RAMONES pop songs on the spot. OUTTACONTROLLER has this punchy punk rock bass line and overwhelming chorus - this the most powerful present day power pop. Five years after their last record "Television Zombie" on the sadly missed PTrash Records, "Sure Thing" continues to kick off on 45rpm. Comes with two sided colored insert.