Sometimes you put yourself into stupid situations where you are working too much, or spreading yourself too thin helping out your family and friends, and all you want to do is quit life and lose your mind. QUEUE: America’s Greatest Hits.
GAG could have released Pilot/Havana Spliff as a one sided 7″ and I would have been completely satisfied coming home after a long day and breaking beer bottles while listening to it on repeat until I was evicted. Fortunately for those unfortunate enough to choose to be around me, “Steel Forced Twin” starts strong with what might be my favorite bass line of the record, and I’m wishing I could have written something this crushing yet catchy in the past year. You can hear that the drums are being beaten brutally, but not without a well appreciated superlative finesse I’ve grown to search out in “extreme” “music.”
The opening lines of “Nobody’s home…” being repeated in the first few seconds of “Wal-Mart Reality” remind me of GISM’s Sakevi, though once the song kicks in, a style all their own aggressively agitates in an almost unnerving attitude. Preeminent transitions in tempo affix the album together and effectively make it a cohesive piece, as opposed to an amalgamation of ideas forced onto a slab of vinyl. “Locker Room,” as heard on the 7″ of the same name, sounds not so dissimilar from it’s former recording other than slightly less reverb on the vocals but is a good reminder of how powerful of a song it is.
At this point, it is important to discuss how good the guitar tone is on this album. Full and warm, yet obnoxious sounding, it is a true embodiment of how they sound live. All of the leads sound perfectly abject and pleasant in despite of their own limited existence. To all uninspired internet punk copy catters looking for the next boat to jump on your ship has arrived.
Another home run from Iron Lung Records – I’m sure GAG will be doing another full US tour soon so don’t miss one of America’s greatest.
