Coma Beach – Passion/Bliss

Coma Beach – Passion/Bliss – EP Review

Who on earth needs to hear my opinion about their music six times in a year?

“Where is my passion I once had?”

I hear ya Coma Beach, I hear ya.

So here we are.  With just a little time left in 2025, I’m at least 40% sure this might maybe be the last time I’ll be writing about Coma Beach this year – but don’t quote me on that.  I give these guys a hard time…partly because I mean what I say and no one out there in the music scene should give nearly half a shit about anything I’d have to say, let alone seek out an opinion six times in a year…but also because I actually do like these guys.  The crew behind the music of Coma Beach with all their strange stage names are genuinely pretty cool people, and for what it’s worth, I’m fine with telling them more about what they already know if that’s what they’d like me to do.  They’ve earned my opinion, these lucky guys.

“Passion” is a cool song.  Kind of like…a Bowie-esque spin on Punk when it comes right down to it, but I could imagine the Thin White Duke getting behind something like this too.  I shouldn’t speak for David (R.I.P.), but in all honesty, if you’ve got an artistic bone in your body, chances are you’ll find something to like about “Passion.”  It starts with a supremely downtrodden and melancholy melody, but I truly like what I hear.  In fact, as they threatened to ramp up the energy, I was like NO – HOLD THE LINE – DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO DAMAGE THIS VIBE.  I don’t think that they caused any significant harm to “Passion” with what they chose to do with it, but I’ll fully admit that it’s the low-key energy that made for the best moments in this opening track.  As for the more energetic stuff added in…meh…it’s alright.  Every song theoretically has to go somewhere, right?  But like…c’mon…going with the more psychedelically-tinged guitar notes soaring into the mix around the 1:20 mark was more satisfying than the band finding their way back to their Punk energy later on down the road a minute later, am I right?  Can’t really blame the band though, Punk is what they do…ultimately, it was only a matter of time before they turned the ship around and headed back to the roots of what they know best.  Believe me when I tell ya though, it’s the slowest moments of “Passion” that make the most memorable impact – that’s where they get close to the real meat of the art of music-making.  The more they ramp up the energy in this song, the closer they end up sounding to The Clash, and I ain’t here for that.  I’m completely sure that THEY are though.  The Clash is Punk royalty.  Don’t get it twisted…I respect their contributions to music, but it’s never been a band I felt like I could get excited about.  Give me something mired in the murk and shrouded in the dark like “Passion” is for the vast majority of its low-key demeanor…that’s the kind of sound I’m looking for.  If you told me that you felt like “Passion” sounds a little bit like an idea in its demo stages still, I don’t think I’d argue with ya – in many ways, it does.  It’s lo-fi, but it suits the sound if you ask me.  As singer B. Kafka tries to figure out what the fuck has happened to the life he once knew, you can hear the serious contemplation occurring in real-time as he sings this song…and I ain’t gonna lie to ya, I dig it.

Credit where credit is due, “Bliss” is cool too.  You see folks?  I might give Coma Beach a whole lot of shit and sarcasm, but I’m nothing but fair.  When things go right, I’m the first to tell them six times about it.  For real though, all jokes aside, you’ll listen to a song like “Bliss” and really have no choice but to admire the fact that Coma Beach is built on hybrid, crossover sound.  Maybe even more than they’d like to admit…I dunno…you’d have to ask them.  I know it can potentially damage the street cred of a Punk band to say they’re anything other than straight-up Punk music, but that’s the objective reality here, and also why many of their tracks appeal to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of Punk music, but it’s not the genre I seek out above all others.  So for me, hearing a song like “Bliss” where they’re willing to add a bit more to it and expand the potential of its reach by incorporating a Hard Rock or Indie Rock spirit to it, is a particular smart move that resonates with me.  I don’t even think it’s all that necessary to label it or slap a genre tag on “Bliss” so that we know where to find it in the record shop – it just is what it is, you know what I mean?  Tracks like “Bliss” are authentically artistic, despite B. Kafka snarling at you.  Define it however you want to, my point is that something like “Bliss” isn’t simply straightforward Punk music…it’s deeper than that.  Call it Punk with a storyline, or music with a multi-faceted sound…whatever you wanna go with.  You get the point I’m making, and that’s what matters.  When it comes right down to it, it’s songs like “Passion” and “Bliss” that act as the gateway in for people outside the Punk genre to find their way in.  Obviously when B. Kafka starts yelling at ya, it’ll slice a few folks out of the potential ratio of their pie, but again, to their credit, they shift their energy with a level of insightful precision that sounds logical as they transition…so even though you might bloody well TRY to resist their more punked-up moments, you’ll probably find you have no real trouble taking the ride with them.  All-in-all, it’s a damn good tune.  I’m still gonna side with “Passion” as the better of the two, but when it comes right down to it, I’d tell you that “Bliss” is another real quality cut to be found on this EP.

You’ll see what I mean when you start listening to “Astray (Fallen Angel)” though.  Does that sound like typical Punk to you?  The fuck it does!  It’s slow, sludgy, and mired in the murk…traits that you wouldn’t normally associate with the Punk genre as their main attributes.  “Astray (Fallen Angel)” seems to not mind wandering further out to the fringe and shows that the band is unafraid to color outside the lines if they’re feeling it.  Did they get the maximum out of this song’s potential?  I don’t know if I’d quite go that far I guess, but I do admire how they’re able to pack so much on the inside of a song that’s not even three & a half-minutes long.  Solid guitar work from Captain A. Fear and M. Blunt as we’ve now come to expect.  As a song, I dunno…I’m less enthusiastic about “Astray (Fallen Angel)” by comparison to the first two tracks I suppose, but that’s not the same thing as saying it’s a bad song.  It’s got this like…fucking strange way of moving, that’s all.  It’s like…you’d accuse the band of wandering around and being confused about where they wanted to go with it if they didn’t sound so damn confident as they surge into each different twist and turn along the way.  So…I suppose that’s a roundabout way of saying that they include a whole lot into a song like “Astray (Fallen Angel)” and that not everything always sounds like it truly belongs together, but at the same time, you really can’t accuse them of being unorganized when they sound so prepared to switch things up at a moment’s notice.  Solid ideas on display from their drummer M. Lecter as well…he’s got the kit sounding perfect in the mix for this track, and while he might not be the most prominent part of what you’ll hear in this song, anytime you’re specifically paying close attention to the drums, you’ll find he’s more than impressive in this performance.  I think the jury is still out when it comes to how this cut will be received by the court of public opinion, but I do think there’s a good chance Coma Beach can win most people over by the passion & precision they put into it.

“Nothing Right” is a great tune.  Did I feel that way about it when I first reviewed it back in June this year?  You’ll have to click here to find out I suppose!  This version on the Passion/Bliss EP is both the ‘original version’ and a ‘radio edit’ at the same time…which is like…well that’s just not a thing, but that’s okay, I won’t hold that against them.  Any kind of ‘edit’ wouldn’t be the original now would it?  Anyhow.  There’s no reason to split hairs when things sound as good as this does.  I’m not necessarily indifferent to the verses of “Nothing Right,” but I’d be the first to tell ya that it pales tremendously in comparison to the chorus and how memorable the hooks are.  Like, I know there are going to be repeats in the music that’s being released by Coma Beach, because as far as I understand it, they stopped making new tunes a long time ago at this point in their career – but it’s not like I go searching through the archives to see what I have and haven’t reviewed previously.  I rely on my ears & my memory to do the work, and if I somehow recall something from the past, believe me when I tell ya, they’ve earned it.  The chorus of “Nothing Right” is genuinely killer, and you’d be just as likely to remember hearing it the next time just the same as I have here.  Is it the tightest song that Coma Beach has ever done?  Fuck no!  There are parts of this song that we could spend the next week debating over how they’re off by a split second here or there as they play this song in terms of their timing & such, but it’s nothing so detrimental that it would turn you off.  It’s gonna be the most dedicated ears that hear that stuff anyhow, not the average everyday listener.  The average everyday listeners are simply gonna be happy with discovering the wild, rampaging energy of the chorus, the incredible lead guitar solo from the Captain, and the expressive way this track takes a hold of you – that’s the stuff they’ll remember and look forward to, rather than worry too much about a second here & there.  It’s PUNK MUSIC for fuck’s sake – if you’re expecting a strict perfection, you’re probably listening to the wrong genre.  They embrace their live-wire energy in this track and bring the show into the studio for “Nothing Right,” and in my humble opinion, it works.

What’s with all these ‘radio edits’ anyhow Coma Beach?  You’re a Punk band – you’re not supposed to give a flying fuck about getting on the radio…I’m pretty sure that’s outlined in the handbook.  “The Final Door” is theoretically the final song I’ll be writing about this year in the Coma Beach catalog…but again, we’ll see.  Who knows what the future holds?  I’m still of the mind that they should just get the band back together again and start cranking out new tunes, even if they’re old-timers now.  Veterans of the scene…that’s a nicer way to put it.  Anyhow.  Umm…yeah…kind of a drag that “The Final Door” is the very last cut in that regard, because it’s just okay.  Performance-wise, it’s good and the band brings the energy you’d wanna hear from them.  Solid tone in the bass from U. Terror as well, and you get an excellently unhinged performance outta their frontman in what B. Kafka brings to this song as well.  It’s not quite enough to save the whole back and forth pattern of up, down, up, over and over again in repetition, but to be fair to Coma Beach, I’m just not into simplicity like that.  Even at the height of my loving Nirvana at the heights of the Grunge era, I still felt a song like “Sliver” was a complete waste of my time, and that was largely for the same damn reasons as to why I’m hesitant to like “The Final Door.”  It’s not that they play it poorly – in fact, it’s because they play it with such commitment and conviction that it has any kind of chance of swaying any of us whatsoever – but yeah…I’m just not hearing enough creativity at the core of the music in a song like this.  Punk be like that sometimes though y’all, and that’s what’s real.  Fans of the genre are familiar with repetitive patterns like you’ll find in this track, and I’m more than certain they don’t mind’em – it’s only assholes like me that bust their balls about it.  The first two tracks are likely my favorites when it comes to the lineup on Passion/Bliss, followed closely by revisiting “Nothing Right,” and then I’m probably tossing a coin to decide which cut I like better out of “Astray (Fallen Angel)” or this last track here.  Despite perhaps not ending it on the strongest of notes in terms of what stimulates my own personal interest, I’ll miss’em if this is indeed our last experience with Coma Beach – they’ve made 2025 entertaining in a wide variety of ways, and represented the Punk genre with a sound that dedicated fans are sure to love.  Hopefully they’ll take my advice and drag their sagging asses & beer bellies back into the studio for another spin around the sun…time will tell.  I feel like Coma Beach is a band that always knew what THEY wanted to do and were unafraid to pursue it at all times, and there’s a genuine magic in the kind of chemistry they share in that regard.  I mean, fuck, I’d still LISTEN to “The Final Door” even though it might not be my favorite track in this set of five songs – and how often do you find yourself sitting through tracks you don’t completely dig from start to finish in this day & age of short attention spans?  It speaks to the fact that, even when you think you might want to tune out, Coma Beach finds ways of enticing you back into listen (six times!) again and again and  again.  For the record, they’re always welcome here – but they better be bringing us all some new tunes.

Find out more about Coma Beach from their official websites below!

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/comabeach

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/coma.beach

Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/comabeach

Tik Tok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@coma.beach

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/0xktqq74a4oPs3L6ITAGaI

 

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