Coma Beach – “Jesus’ Tears”

Coma Beach – “Jesus’ Tears” – Single Review

Not bad!  Not bad at all.

Honestly, I don’t really know what I was expecting when I pushed play on “Jesus’ Tears” – I suppose I thought it could have easily gone either way.  As I was reading about them in their press release and all the other notes I’ve got here scattered across my dusty desk, they cite a remarkable wealth of influences that certainly implies a deep knowledge of those that paved the way for Coma Beach to exist today.  Obviously I like that…we should all be somewhat familiar with the roots of who we are and what makes us, right?  Why I say this could have gone either way though, was because as I was looking over their influences, I felt like I’d personally like the music of one band and not the next, and it kind of went that way through the entire list.  For example, I love the Cure, and I’m not so hot on Joy Division.  I like Bad Religion, and I have no use for Guns N’ Roses…that kind of thing.  So trust me when I tell ya, if we’re to believe we’re the sum of our influences…well…that’s why I thought listening to this single could go in either direction.  I’m happy to report that I ended up liking “Jesus’ Tears” quite a bit after listening to it.

It’s got balls!  That’s the reality.  Not only is it written with a purposely controversial perspective, but the band itself plays on a real unified front.  Love the creativity in the guitars from Captain A. Fear, and everything else within the rhythm section was spot-on & steady as it gets – that’s M. Blunt (Rhythm Guitar), U. Terror (Bass), and drummer M. Lecter.  This is quality Punk that they’re making on this single, with just enough of a bend towards a more straightforward type of Alt-Rock that gives a track like “Jesus’ Tears” have more of a hybrid accessibility to it than you’d get from just one genre.  All that good stuff being said, the not-so-secret weapon of Coma Beach is right there upfront on the microphone – lead singer B. Kafka is absolutely electrifying, and a perfect fit for the kind of music this band wants to make.  He’s got that gritty, needs to spit something out to clear his throat type of sound, but I assure you, it’s all by design.  It’s by no means any kind of easy task to sing or yell in that kind of demeanor, but that’s the thing – Kafka handles it like he could do this all day, every day.  The structure and flow of the verses were already impressive in terms of melody & the hooks you’ll find, and I felt like Coma Beach really found the best possible way to take a good song and make it a great one by how they approached the chorus.  Bringing in the gang vocals for an extra layer of controlled chaos, the harmonies and backing vocals are remarkably professional…cleverly placed in a way that’s much more rare to the Punk genre.  “Jesus’ Tears” has got inspired sound, fierce attitude, and the kind of live-wire energy you want to hear when you put on a Punk song, you know what I mean?  It’s also got this slight Post-Punk type of sound to it as well that largely comes through Fear’s guitar tones…but I’ll be damned if it ain’t a seamless fit too…what Fear does is a large part of what broadens the potential appeal of this single to the masses.

Now…as always, you regular readers know if I’ve got something to say, that I’ll say it.  Let’s be clear to start though – Coma Beach is coming to our Canadian pages all the way from Germany, you feel me?  Whatever they can express in English is far superior than anything I could say in German, so believe me, they’ve got my full respect for coming across as clearly as they do on “Jesus’ Tears.”  The only spot that I felt was a little confusing was in the first verse, right as it begins where Kafka sings:  “They nailed me to the cross/next to Jesus Christ/a man climbed up to me/and stared into my glaring eyes/”you’ll end up on this cross”…”  And it’s a little confusing timeline-wise, ain’t it?  The very first line of the song states that he’s already nailed up to the cross, and then shortly later on this dude tells him that he’ll “end up on this cross” – so which is it?  Are there two crosses?  Like was the dude that climbed up telling him that they were going to move him in the near future to an adjacent cross, or a cross somewhere across town?  Anyhow.  I’m just having a bit of fun here…I never once felt like it hindered my enjoyment of “Jesus’ Tears” – if anything, I might have liked it even more because I had to think about how this scenario that Kafka is growling out to us would have taken place, you know what I mean?  I’d way rather have to pick apart some lyricism in an effort to make some sense of it, rather than hear something mundane that doesn’t interest me at all.  I like this tale that Coma Beach has put together, and again, I think the chorus is pretty much the mosh-pit anthem we all hope to hear in the thick of the crowd.  I love the phrasing of that too – “My mad life was punished/but my spirit will take revenge.”  Fuck YEAH it will!  Get’em spirit!

For real, I’ve been cranking this single UP as far as my stereo can take it & singing along with the chorus in every opportunity I’ve had since I first got a chance to listen to it – which has been plenty, believe me.  I’ve road tested this track, and I’m tellin’ ya, it’s gonna have no problem holding up over the years to follow…I’ve got plenty of room on my playlists for a cut like this, and I’m confident that you Punksters out there will too.  “Jesus’ Tears” has everything it needs and it’s built with bulletproof precision.  From its roots to the true Punk sound & energy, to its proudly deviant lyricism & snarling attitude, I had an absolute riot listening to this new single from Coma Beach and I’m stoked to have a listen to what else they’ve got out there based on the pure strength and all-out fun I’ve had listening to “Jesus’ Tears.”

Find out more about Coma Beach from their official page at Facebook here:  https://www.facebook.com/comabeach

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