Album and E.P Review by FungalPunk
THE ARGUMENTS – BETTER THAN FREE BEER
A melodic hardcore submission here served up with a side dish of 100mph energy and stop ‘n’ start chant ‘n’ rant angst that generally exhibits a musical insight and youthful essence that comes across as an urgent and thoughtful mish-mash of flavours. The opening 2 tracks for me are class, these being ‘Shit The Fucker Got Shot’ and ‘Another Line’ both of which batter and bugger the eardrums with a piercing passion hard to find. ‘Rats’ is the best of this ravaged crop and just encapsulates that hardcore madness and ability to stay in tune quite beautifully. An art form in itself and sometimes a quality missed by lesser bands. ‘Nah Nah Nah’ is your token gesture quickie and is a fuckin’ pip. Sharp, tight and complicated enough without erring on the side of fussy - it is a minor gem. ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ maintains the tempo and ‘Flowers’ is a inspired finale and proves that here we have solid CD from an obviously cracking band. Go headbang now!
THE ARGUMENTS – LIFE’S A LESSON... LEARN TO LIVE
If you forget who these guys are through some mind altering drug then the first track of this 12 track composition will go some way to refreshing your memory. That said lets move on! The Arguments second track of this delivery, namely ‘Bomb Drop’ has several methods thrown in to one melting pot which spills over into a fine deluge of critical angst. Moments to slam to there are many as is the case with the rest of the album which alters pace alarmingly well and captures the blackened wings of the hardcore raven with flailing arms that are both wild yet controlled. Too much brazen music of this ilk doesn’t take time out to let the listener take stock of what he has been dealt. Not so here. The breaks in temp are perfectly timed and this is an album with many fine moments for the connoisseur of the frenzied genre. The influences are hard to pick but there is a crossing of US and UK punk genres here that works and works bloody well. It won’t be everyone’s cup of cha but the ska-esque moments must appeal to a wider audience than more deliberate bands of this style. By and large a damn fine album and a band who do what they do well. Definitely worth a shot and fans of The Transplants should check this immediately? What the fuck is ‘Rhinotillexomaniac’ about though.
