Labels: Boss Tuneage
Review by: Alex Deller
Despite their pedigree (post-Ripcord, pre-Violent Arrest) and seeing their records around a fair bit, I somehow never got around to hearing Dumbstruck. Not sure quite how that happened, but sometimes that’s just how it goes. Here, for laggards like me and maybe like you, is their recorded output (a 7″, an LP and a couple of covers) coming remastered and with liner notes from their drummer. As you’d expect it’s all rowdy and belligerent, a blur of snarling 80s-inspired hc that barrels along at full tilt for its 21-song duration. The Negative Approach and Poison Idea covers tell you roughly where the band are coming from sonically, and while some tracks are likely to fall between the cracks there are also a handful of certified bangers on offer. In an ideal world I’d like things to have been a bit scuzzier round the edges “” it’s all very crisp and ‘together’ “” but that’s just a minor quibble: at heart it’s a solid discog, and well worth a spin or three.