DETOURNEMENT - AWAKEN WITH MILLIONS FROM ONE HEART

Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, Detournement's second release, "Awaken with Millions from One Heart", is a collection of love-letters to the proletariat, anti-capitalist pillow-talk, and pop-punk songs for class warfare.

Produced by Bouncing Souls guitarist, Pete Steinkopf, "Awaken with Millions from One Heart" follows a similar approach to Detournement's debut, "Screaming Response", which was accused of making "good on the promise their pedigree commands" by Alternative Press, charged as being "classic hardcore punk!" by Jersey Beat, and convicted as "a violently political album" by Heathen Harvest.

Zak Kaplan - Vocals • Dan DeSimoni - Bass • Rob Ferreira - Drums • Tom Petta - Guitar • Nate Gluck - Guitar

"Awaken with Millions from One Heart" produced by Pete Steinkopf at Little Eden Studios, Asbury Park, NJ. Mixed and mastered by Tom Petta at The Bivouac. Art and design by Zak Kaplan. Photo by Michelle Sanders.

Released by Chunksaah Records and Pirates Press Records

Street Date:
Dec 1, 2009

Websites:
www.DetournementOnline.com
www.Myspace.com/DetournementBand
www.Facebook.com/pages/DETOURNEMENT/85891853462
www.Chunksaah.com
www.PiratesPressRecords.com

Press Contact:
derek@solidpr.com

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DETOURNEMENT - SCREAMING RESPONSE

A short, fast, loud approach to songwriting, politically pointed lyrics, and an abrasive delivery, Detournement’s debut release, “Screaming Response”, is a furious and scalding critique of a collapsing economic system, a battle-cry to define and organize the struggle, and a hardcore-punk record that sound as if the genre was being discovered for the first time.

Featuring memebers of Lifetime, Bigwig, Ensign, Worthless United, Plan A Project.

Zak Kaplan - Vocals • Dan DeSimoni - Bass • Scott Golley - Drums • Tom Petta - Guitar • Nate Gluck - Guitar

"Screaming Response" recorded, mix, and mastered by Tom Petta at The Bivouac. Drums recorded by Pat Kays at The Warehouse. Layout and artwork by Zak Kaplan. Band photos by Wendi Shoenfeld.

Released by Chunksaah Records and Pirates Press Records

Street Date:
May 5, 2009

Websites:
www.DetournementOnline.com
www.myspace.com/DetournementBand
www.Chunksaah.com
www.PiratesPressRecords.com

Press Contact:
derek@solidpr.com

"Screaming Response" Reviews:

ALTERNATIVE PRESS

4 out of 5 stars - It's simple math: When you count members of Lifetime, Bigwig, Ensign and Worthless United among your ranks, you need to deliver the bearded goods. And Detournement have made good on the promise their pedigree commands with Screaming Response, a short collection of fast (and awesome) punk rock. Blasting out eight songs in fewer than 12 minutes, this is instant-classic melodic punk that blends the fury of the first Clash record with the street-smart growl of the Business and Street Dogs. "Odessa" churns with all the power of a killer One Man Army B-side, while "No Estan Solos" is "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" for the Fest generation, complete with some words that aren't even English. Get into it.

JERSEY BEAT

This is classic hardcore punk! Fast, loud, furious, and politically motvated. The average track length is 1:30 or so, and there’s only 8 tracks on the disc, unfortunately. But this is great hardcore, some of the best I’ve heard in years! Too much “punk” today is really power-pop, geared toward alternative rock fans. This is the real deal, folks. Recommended.

RAZORCAKE

Has members of Lifetime. I’m sorry, did you need me to go on? HAS MEMBERS OF FUCKING LIFETIME. Okay, well, no, it’s not a Dan Yemin project or anything, it’s the drummer Scott. The music is a bit everywhere: the first two tracks made this seem like a youth crew-esque release, but later tracks show more of a Swingin’ Utters kind of sound, then some other songs are closer to an older Bouncing Souls sound. It’s cool, if you like your music schizophrenia flavored.

BROKEN HEADPHONES

While at the Bouncing Souls show last week I was checking out the merch booth grabbing some goodies for myself. As I was waiting for the merch guy to return to the booth, I saw this interesting looking 7″ vinyl on the counter. It grabbed my attention mostly because of the jacket. The jacket was actually wrapped in sand paper making for a unique look.
Not knowing who the band was I added it to my pile of goodies and went on with my night.
Today I finally had a chance to check out my impulse buy. The band is called Detournement and their debut EP titled Screaming Response was released on the Bouncing Souls’ record label Chunksaah Records. The band enjoyed the EP so much they were selling it at their shows and boy am I glad they did.

The eight song EP is full of political powerful punk rock goodness with very thought out lyrics combined with punk music that almost reminds me of Rancid especially with the Matt Freemon-like bass riffs throughout the EP. Heavy on the hardcore punk side at times and overall a good listen, I really enjoyed this blind purchase a lot.

ABSOLUTE PUNK

Detournement is defined as being the act of reusing elements of well-known media to create a new work with a different message. That is a fitting term for the band, Detournement, who recently released their debut EP, Screaming Response. The EP features eight songs of frantic energy that sound as if they could be b-sides to any of The Casualties or Rancid's records. Comprised of members from punk/hardcore acts such as Worthless United, Bigwig, Lifetime, Ensign, Plan a Project, and The Ratchets, Detournement have the potential to be a big street punk act.

Upon first listen, it is easy to hear the message Detournement want to get across: they aren't happy with the government. Who is? The only problem is, it's all been said and done before. As soon as the first song picks up, you are thrust straight in to the street punk that The Casualties are known for, and it never lets up. No track is longer than 1:30, except the Rancid-esque "No Estan Solos," which clocks in at 3:34.

This is not a bad album, not by any means. It's enjoyable and upbeat, but it's also been done before. This is an album that won't get many listens, as better options, such as The Casualties, Rancid, Anti-Flag, and Rise Against, are easily accesible. For those who enjoy the street punk of The Casualties, meet your new favorite band: Detournement.

DARK LEGIONS

For a minute, I was thrown back into 1994 when the fresh-voiced, power-pop-infused posi-pop-punk started hitting the shelves. Like all those bands, these guys try really hard to show both how purist punk they are, and how not punk they are, by cutting a ballad like "No Estan Solos" full of soulful appeal but ultimately pretty repetitive. The rest is surging political punk that tries to keep the outrage high but, as in the 1990s, sounded simply like the children of a post-industrial wasteland howling protests at leaders themselves in the grip of forces they cannot control. Both of these tendencies make the pandering and amateurishness come out, but other than that, there's nothing wrong with this high-energy modern hardcore EP.

EXCLAIM

Screaming Response is all over the map. Songs like opener "Focus… Explosion!" sound like a faster Pissed Jeans, while "2 of 8" could have come out in 1983. "Men and Maggots" sounds like a Rancid song, while "Stranglehold U.S.A." sounds like the U.S. Bombs. The eclectic nature of the eight songs on this record manages to grab your attention and as such it makes for a pretty solid introduction to this punk rock super-group (made up of members of Lifetime, Bigwig, Ensign, Plan A Project and Worthless United). More than anything, it's the rhythm section that anchors the band, especially on "No Estan Solos," a song about the plight of the Zapatistas in Mexico. A little more direction might work in these guys' favour in the future, but it's nice to know that whatever direction they chose to take from here they're more than capable of pulling off.

HEATHEN HARVEST

EP debut from New Jersey based ensemble conformed by five musicians (Two guitar players, one bassist, a drummer and the singer) come to scene with all batteries charged and noble intentions ready to deliver a good discharge of punk rock with some rocky combos and a little bit of some spicy Ska to vary things a little bit. “Screaming response” is a violently political album consequently sided with the world momentum, rekindling again the flame of revolution and social rebellion as necessity and consequently using their album debut as a mean to an end in that respect. Members are not new in the Punk rock scene and has been active quite a long time in different other projects such as The ratchets, Bigwig, Lifetime, The fire still burns, Plan a project and Vision. But in this EP they display ahead the more juvenile and somewhat candid appeal that appears on certain Punk bands, playing hard and low and above all trying to bring ferocity through each track and only appeased when dedicated to experiment with different truces. The EP was issued in a limited edition vinyl printed in yellow, grey-black and black wax. These guys will teach you how you can change the world with a good set of furious chords.

“Screaming response” is firmly based on 80’s Punk rock and part hardcore standards. The New Jersey vibe from hardcore Straight edge and Anarcho-punk are main pillars from inspiration. Basically these set of aspects are divisible on the music cadence, short potent chords anchorage in powerful and rapid drummer blasts with screaming vocals (notably more furious and vicious that Straight edge though) and the typical anarchist de-facto kind of lyrics, violently anti-systemic, impelling rebellion and violence as a mean to set the flame against oppression. Take for example the opener track “Focus...Explosion!” in its monolithic chord-to-drum rotation, agitated from start to end and comprising the typical short-dense based kind of track barely reaching just a minute, a great starter! The band doesn’t take this as a cliché and introduces other minimal aspects to divert the sonority as for example in “Men and maggots” with a savage rock n’rolling riff aperture that reminds of the beginnings of Social distortion or even The Ramones. But the big hit from the album is definitively “No estan solos” that injects that groovy upbeat riff with a dubbed bass line and excellent double chorus (in Spanish) part that becomes as a mix between Die toten hosen and Rancid and becomes the more funny and catchy track from the album infused by a non infatuated Ska appeal. This is probably the more mellow and melodic track from the whole album and its probably the icon for the album to be represented. Next highlight is the fast paced multiple rhythmic changing “The dead man cries for vengeance” that dribbles between middle paced double drums to fast paced blasts and vocalist screaming his rant over. Guitars are methodically circling one another in perfect duets of rhythmic precision, although the arrangements are not over complicated generally. The bass plays well his role and pronounce the rhythmical course of the tracks with solid intention and stands out notably in “No estan solos”. Drums are rough and though, with no subterfuges or ornaments but to put the hits where they should be, so it reflects a team understanding as a whole.

Well, “Screaming response” is a good debut in general, not too much of an original, but has enough strength and direction during its performance. The best idea is to have had included other choices for arrangements, such as Rock n’roll riffs and a general sense for experimentation that defies the cliché or the dogmatic norm for Punk rock. The more original and competitive track is by far “No estan solos”, that could be a single in itself even if it is partially sung in Spanish. It is rebel, passionate and fast EP; Detournement debuts with an album that would be a gift for those longing for 80s school seen from a vast perspective of influences.

PUNKNEWS

Dudes from Lifetime, Ensign, Bigwig and Worthless United? By all accounts, Detournement should fucking rule. Moments on their debut 7", Screaming Response, are competent enough, but hardly "fucking rule." Further, Screaming Response tends to be hampered by a lack of good ideas, or just questionable ideas unfortunately put into place.

Opening bangers "Focus...Explosion!", "Stand Firm" and "Men and Maggots" seem like they could define the band's sound, with hardcore that sounds a bit like Ensign, only more melodic and with generous doses of street punk tones in the shouted backup vocals and playful guitar tones. The production isn't too pronounced, but overall this trio of songs aren't bad -- not bad at all.

The weird detours begin on the mostly Spanish-sung "No Estan Solos," which is infused with a Latin punk/ska sense but the band staying heavier on the riffs. I don't know how I feel about it. "The Dead Man Cries for Vengeance" tries to get a little creative, but the band sound like they're stumbling over each other a bit with the interchanging guitars, and the "breakdown" is abrupt and too soft to enjoy on any level. "Stranglehold U.S.A." leans hard on the street punk bend, which wouldn't be a bad thing if the hollored "gung-ho" shouts didn't make the song sound so generic and cheesy -- at least until the last 10 seconds, where the track suddenly transitions into a fresher sense of upbeatness. "Odessa" is a decent closer, though, offering an anthemic chorus through the muted recording.

Detournement's debut has a couple pretty promising moments and its makeup is an exciting variety of New Jersey hardcore veterans. But considering all that experience, Screaming Response falls short of an aggressive answer. Let's keep asking questions in hopes the real response comes later.

SCENE POINT BLANK

Detournement are an Eastcoast band with members from a host of familiar bands. Rather than focus on who they are, though, their music should speak for itself.

The fifty-one second opener, “Focus…Explosion!,” makes a quick impression, with melodic hardcore that's over before you've found your seat. The lyrics aren't exactly discernible, but I know both titular words were screamed with emphasis on the exclamation point. The rest of the record reminds me of Rancid V, with powerful guitars and angry group shouts. “Odessa” has a Matt Freeman-esque bass line, even if it sounds a bit tinny. The change of pace song, “No Estan Solo,” is slower with some soft spoken vocals that almost feel soothing compared with the rest of the record. The song takes a subtler approach, but it still fits in with the overall style due to its group vocals and upbeat tempo. It's well placed in the middle of the record, which keeps the energy flowing, but allows some contemplation between burners. Just afterward is “A Dead Man Cries for Vengeance,” which shows a more straightforward hardcore influence, before returning to hyperfast group-sing with the union song “Stranglehold U.S.A.”

Detournement is definitely recommended for fans of Rancid, Street Dogs, and other solidarity-leaning street punk bands. They speed things up a little more than those bands and have a distinct Eastcoast feel. The lyrics are political, more anthem than dissertation. It's not original, but it's well executed and catchy. I'm curious where the band will be in a couple albums if they stick around and separate themselves more from their influences.

WAY TOO LOUD

The band name does not allude to this band being punks at all. The amazing part however is how they’re able to stuff so many kinds of punk into a small package, as they span everything all the way from old-school punk-rock to old-school hardcore to skate punk, all in 8 songs just over a minute, totaling a 12 minute EP, yet somehow the songs manage to suck you in without feeling short.