SUPERMAN IS DEAD: ANGELS & OUTSIDERS

INDONESIAN PUNKS HEAD FOR THE WARPED TOUR
Super stylised powerpop band, Superman Is Dead, might look like rock fashionistas, but when you've heard the songs, met the people, seen where they've been and what they’ve accomplished, it's pretty clear that these guys are all about the music. Of course, their "Kutafornia" – Kuta meets California – image is the visual embodiment of punk rock, which is slowly but surely being sidelined by more “sophisticated” schools of thought.

These days, if you don’t have two or three convoluted sentences per song, you aren’t cool. And if your chord progressions don’t resemble something out of a George Lucas film, it just isn’t good enough. In a world where trends come and go and certain preconceived ideas are king, Superman Is Dead have stayed true, keeping the three chord dream alive and well.

Angels and the Outsiders, admits the band, is a little slower and more pop orientated than previous releases, but when I listen to it, I just get this overwhelming feeling of well being and reminisce to a time when Green Day were still credible and the Ramones were considered innovators, not just some t-shirt company.

SID love their hometown – "Kuta Rock City" – and Island of Bali, Indonesia so much, that they permeate just about every song. The album art alone is testament to this: palm trees, low-rider bicycles, Cadillacs and scooters, with the bass player and his son forming the centrepiece – personally, it's one of my favorite album covers ever.

Musically, although the album sticks to a powerpop/punk rock formula, the band do experiment here and there, and that’s what makes Angels and the Outsiders stand out – they even have a Bali Orphanage Choir singing a chorus on opening track, "Kuat Kita Bersinar." The album takes a few different turns, with a ragga bridge in the second track, “Jika Kami Bersama,” and a few harder and more amping rock 'n roll riffs later on.

Lyrically, it’s pretty personal and heartfelt stuff (unfortunately, I can only speak for the songs sung in English), and SID come across as humble and far less intimidating than their image might suggest. At the end of a long day, Angels and the Outsiders makes me wish I was back in Bali, drinking a cold Bintang and hanging out at Twice Bar.

In June and July, SID are off to America and the Vans Warped Tour 2009.

Taken From blunt Magazine :
http://www.bluntmag.co.za/all_reviews/music_reviews/?article_id=1422