Crannk Reviews Burnout - Elevator Music for High and Low People -

Burnout are a 3 piece punk band from Adelaide, South Australia, Australia with band members between the ages of 17 and 18. You might already be making assumptions about the music given the band members ages but the band has been playing with the current lineup since around 2012 and have definitely refined their sound. Burnout are influenced by skate punk bands like NoFX, Frenzal Rhomb, No Use For a Name and Lagwagon which should give you an idea of what they sound like. Over the years Burnout has played a lot of shows around Adelaide with bands like Frenzal Rhomb, The Decline, Direct Hit, and even Heaps Good Friends just to name a few.
The band featured on 7 news Adelaide in 2015. Burnout were written about by a blog called Skatepunkers shortly before the band released their debut EP ‘Wide Awake‘ In 2016. Burnout came 3rd in the Murray Bridge battle of the bands in April 2017. Burnout have a few songs on the Triple J Unearthed platform and have got themselves in the top 5 spot on the Triple J Unearthed High Competition in 2018. Burnout has had really good support from Triple J since 2015, including a few spins on the Short. Fast. Loud program and have been played on other radio stations like Wow fm 100.5
The band released their debut album called ‘Elevator Music for High and Low People‘ on the 15th of March 2020. The album contains songs I’m already familiar with thanks to their Triple J Unearthed uploads like Freedom (2:55), Get Out (2:18) and Someone Else (3:53). These songs showcase the musical elements found throughout the album like pick slides, palm muting, distorted power chords, melodic picking, stop/start and pause moments, even ska inspired upstrokes from the guitar. The bass lines and drum work is not just well developed but accomplished and exciting. The song ‘Someone Else‘ is probably my favourite of these and the band made a cool video for it back in October 2019.

The bands lyrical content is totally on point for young punkers inspired by skatepunk bands. They even wrote a song called Skate Song (2:07), which is a fast melodic skatepunk tune with a great ending. The Neighbours Hate Us (2:26) also feels on point. It starts with the bass, its more a starting point than an intro though as the rest of the band joins in so quick. Its got some great lines as the lyrical content highlights that all too familiar situation where adults tell teens to turn their music down amongst other dramas that occur with neighbours but although there are some very funny lines the song actually hits home with a message of tolerance and unity. The song Take Me Away (2:56) is lyrically similar to The Neighbours Hate Us, it has funny lines and a powerful message. Burnout does a good job mixing comedic lines with genuine concerns.
For me, the song Perfect Reality (3:10) was an absolute highlight from the album. Its got a two-tone ska-punk feel, great bassline and a powerful message delivered in the words. Its got a nice guitar solo and one of the best breakdowns I’ve ever heard. The build-up part after the breakdown really shows the band members technical proficiency on their instruments.