Labels: ash from sweat
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Every year we get treated to 1 or 2 albums that are capable of holding their own with the classic 1990’s emo records. Bailer have come from nowhere to drop
2005’s bomb on us – “Sing It Like A Victim”, an absolute belter of a record.
Bailer revel in a relatively unpopular form of the genre – going for a mid-pace and lots of crunchy guitars. All sorts of comparisons can be drawn, Policy of
3, 400 Years, Boilermaker, Yaphet Kotto, and also At the Drive In (I hear this in the shouty vocals sometimes, particularly on “Soapbox for the Spotlight”).
Each song brazenly flails around, relying on hefty riffs and top notch vocals that are expertly varied between songs. The album sets its standard from the
get go with the thundering melodies of “3307 S. Pearl vs 3317 S. Pearl” and the brooding “Lets Push It Til It Clips”, the latter of which sways between
downbeat sung parts and the hard punching grooves that make this music etch itself into your brain. “Savor Control” then turns things down a touch by slowing
everything up and giving us more of the sung vocals in a way that recalls Boilermaker, especially when they start building up the noise and urgency. My
favourite track is probably “Lloyd Daubler an American Hero”, which rolls out of the gate sedately with simple bass, brings in the distorted / muffled vocals
(which are JULIA AS FUCK!) before kicking it up a notch and spilling it all out. Guaranteed to have me flapping around uncoordinatedly like a drunken bird in
my chair. I keep dropping the names but “False Bottoms Drop” is a messy short effort that recalls 2nd LP Boys Life with its distant telephone vocals and the
feeling that the song is just about keeping it all together with its sad sad emo riffage and tinpot drumming. Basically all that sums up the first side, and
the second side continues the trend and I could quite easily write about each track and say “ITS AMAZING! IT REMINDS ME OF SOME OLD BAND THAT I LOVE!”, but
that is kind of unfair because Bailer are great in their own right. This LP flows brilliantly, the songs work well together and simply put, I love it.
Bailer have cranked out a gem here, nobody will care other than a couple of hundred emo dorks who appreciate this genre, but thats not the issue – this album
is an absolute keeper and if the music that keeps you going is the one where a few guys blast out a few ferociously melodic songs, then if you don’t pick
this up, you’re missing out on a treat. My favourite record that has come out this year, no question.