Ruggedly political, apologetically loud and pugnacious, it is clear that punk is not dead in The Human Error’s eponymous debut punk album. This riveting young punk group has quickly incinerated its way into the West Midland’s music scene. The punk trio, led by vocalist/guitarist Joe Ree, bassist Joe Brown and drummer Adam Welsh, who has just only turned 15, are defined by an era of resistance and punk mayhem.
Instancing listening to this album sends me back to the 1970s era of punk; the album seamlessly creates a soundscape where contemporary social and political injustices issues can co-exist in a classic punk rock realm. The first track “Fractured Britain” does just this, pumping with loud caffeinated three chord rhythms with jarring vocals screaming with pungently honest lyrics of the social injustices of the class divide. We are sent to be “Walking through the streets of New England town” where the job market struggle is real and “Livelihoods are being robbed”. With this, the lyrics relentlessly criticise a capitalist social system where “the higher-ups don’t give a damn about is, they just want to leave us out to rust”.
Throughout the album, the lyrical narrative takes us into a fuelled political protest shouting against oppressive forces. Whether about the threats of nuclear war in ‘World War Three’ or the disastrous media discords of ‘The News at Ten” and the environmental crisis in ‘Ozone Park,’ this album is ultimately a moment of outrage for the issues 2023 is faced with. The rapid build-up of the first half of the album is injected with the fiery pumping and throaty punk noise that is addictive. The visceral vocals are a force to be reckoned with, unbroken and persistently release a boiled rage. Included with the subtle nod to the Buzzcocks in their cover of “Fast Cars” ties coherently in the album and yet bodes respect to the original punkers who undeniably influenced the band.
By the end of the album, The Human Error stand for action and outrage. The ‘Razor’s Edge’ evokes a perfect end to the punk rock album. There is a sense of a more focused sound that represents the band and in a way find’s itself more clearly.
All in all, The Human Error embody a generation that is over with the chaos of the world and is fuelled by the angst that are willing to scream a mantra of unfiltered confrontation.
Imogen Evans