Labels: No Idea Records
Review by: Joe Callaghan
It’s better than the first album. Let’s just get that out of the way nice and early. It is. I thought the first record was okay, but it severely lacked any sort of longevity. On first listen I enjoyed it, but my opinion of it waned with each listen. I kept finding little hooks and melodies that annoyed me, until I got to a stage where I just wanted to find things I didn’t like about it with each listen. This record is executed a little more flourishingly, and they’ve managed to augment the traits which made the first record good, with just a little bit more of a rigorous swagger. I think they’ve cottoned on to the fact that Gruff Punk is a little boring now. There’s only so many times you can play 3 or 4 chords and shout like there’s a hole in your throat until history starts to repeat itself. Instead, there’s a little bit more focus on the guitar riffs and allowing each guitar to play off the other, which results in something a little more structured, co-operative and exerting. I mean, it’s not an Iron Maiden record, but there’s certainly a much more evident call-and-response group ethic going on in terms of the musicianship, almost like a slower and much more prudent Assfactor 4 mixed with all the usual bearded suspects that will be Fest-bound this Autumn. There’s also plenty of Drive Like Jehu in there, with the crunchy guitars and the ferocious groove, which already instantly separates it from the rest of the gravely pop punk which is over populating Florida at the minute. It’s a good record. It won’t be an instant classic, and I don’t think it will be looked back on in 5 years in an over-stated, blown out of proportion sort of manner like a lot of records of this ilk. It’s just a reasonable record by a band who are aware of their short fallings and have worked hard to paste over the cracks on their sophomore record. Can’t say fairer than that.