Had an up-and-down relationship with Cloak/Dagger over the years, and given there’s been a eight-year gap between releases I rather figured they’d vanished like so many of their Sorry State/No Way/Grave Mistake peers. Anyway: this is surprisingly smashing, and actually one of the better punk records I’ve heard this year. They’ve harnessed a straggly, wiry sound that’s reminiscent of a less assured, less tuneful John Reis project, but their feral energy and shit-kicking rock n’ rolls riffs are imbued with a genuinely affecting sense of despondency. Oftentimes the lyrics seem less the result of careful songcraft than a stream-of-consciousness blurt of disappointment, with yowled lines from songs like ‘Sick Obsession’ and ‘Black Roses’ catching you by surprise like a cold blade between the ribs. Despite the pace and jumpiness there’s something bleak and harrowing about the whole experience – a yearning sense of choked-up loss that leaves a pleasingly bitter aftertaste long after the last note has been wrung out.
