I stumbled across this band last week on Unwound’s lastfm page while trying to work out if Survival Knife would be putting out some music anytime soon. These guys had spammed the page with the link to their bandcamp – I tend to ignore such spam generally but thought I’d give this a go as the mere mention of Unwound is enough to get me excited and I couldn’t find much about Survival Knife doing anything for the moment. There is a UK band of the same name but these guys come from Costa Mesa, CA and play some noisy post hardcore – it’s very good indeed. Listing influences as bands like Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes and Unwound this band makes a hell of a racket led by a powerful and driven rhythm section. The appropriately named opener, “Gallops For Grads”, starts with a galloping drumbeat and packs a healthy amount of energy, discord and punch – it’s an absolute belter and a sign of things to come. The vocals are angry, menacing and full of urgency. The guitars are tight, the bass prominent. Most of these tracks pound along at decent pace but a couple of faster tracks push things along further – “Bullies For Christ” flies along at blistering pace once it gets going. The vocals are full of urgency. Whilst I don’t think they sound too close to Unwound I can hear the influence in some of the riffs on the opening of “That Should Be The Name Of Yr First Solo Record” and the brooding, slower “In Case There’s A Trap” which another great song. I’m finding it hard to fault this one. There are only eight songs on here but it feels cohesive as an album. It’s pounding and urgent in every sense – this is pretty damn good.
