Labels: No Idea
Review by: Alex Deller
Wipers-y punk played by members of Hot Water Music and Samiam. I have to say, I reckon if this came out maybe eight years ago (i.e. when everyone was doing their nut over Wipers-y punk) and didn’t feature members of Hot Water Music and Samiam (i.e. because punk is full of people who’d rather not give credit where it’s due lest their verdict somehow shame them in front of their peers on the internet) then the cool kids might have spilt their beans over this one. Still, I’m sure the band don’t give too much of a fig about the kind of people who’ll write off their MRR subscriptions once they’re through truffle hunting for MP3s and get good proper jobs in accountancy or advertising or wherever it is that former punx go to die in 2016. Anyway, enough of that. For my money ‘No Anchor’ combines the aforementioned Wipersyness with the best of what both bands had to offer in their prime, this being HWM’s pre-bigger label output and Samiam’s post-bigger label stuff. It packs a huge melodic wallop, is incredibly earnest and has enough grit lodged under its sac to ensure things stay fiery; the out-and-out belters far outweighing the occasional filler track that only really make their presence known when you stop to think too hard about proceedings rather than dashing off to do whatever it was you should be doing. Ultimately it is what it is: an enjoyably hefty slice of gravelly, melodic punk that scratches a very specific itch. I like it, even if opener ‘Middle Man’ is such an outrageous Wipers rip that they should be giving a tenth of all album proceeds to Greg Sage.