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Angry, political, raucous...melodic.

A perfect continuation upon Change is a Sound, Strike Anywhere has captured the essence of everything that made their debut full-length good and magnified it tenfold. The shout-alongs raise your fist higher, the melodies nod your head more vigorously, the working-class social commentary makes you more emotionally attached to each discourse that Thomas spits in your face. It carries an overly consistent pace that grabs you right below your shirt collar and doesn’t let go until the post-qualm fade of the closing track, not letting you miss a single beat.

Speaking of which, the vocals are exploring their range even more this time around. Whether it be the gravel-induced shouts a la Kid Dynamite’s Jason or the soothing yearns of Lifetime’s Ari Katz, Richmond’s own once again serves its sound that is actually more akin to the throwback melodic hardcore days of ‘90s Jersey. Thomas has really discovered his voice, and it shows. Yes, I’ve already said this before, but you can really hear the emotional fluidity that he tries getting across; he sounds more impassioned than Conor Oberst perusing his seventh grade diary entries, all the while managing to avoid emphasizing the ‘emo’ in emotional.

“Amplify” is actually more of a prologue to its following track, opening with the first of several pick slides in the album that help set the tempo throughout. Thomas trades off ‘hey’s with his band members, until you’re reminded in its corresponding song “Blaze,” that the band’s theme has hardly drifted from its emphasis on appealing to the cornflower-blue tie masses; “in the people’s war behind the writing on the wall / in the people’s war searching spoiling for a fall.”

Despite its repetitious nature, “To the World” is a patriotic hymn that starts relatively subtle with a mid-tempo beat, and gradually speeds up until pledging “allegiance to the world / nothing more, nothing less than my humanity!” The systematic approach at changing up each line combination ironically helps increase the sporadically anthemic nature of the song.

Not to be defeated by purpose, many of the songs’ introductions sometimes act as direct clashes as opposed to the rest of the song, smartly luring you in until slamming your face to the mat, whereas some fit in perfectly and flow naturally. The just-over-a-minute long “Fifth Estate” one-twos you with its drum pounding and ‘whoa-uh-oh’s, and chugs along with its yearning yells and abrupt finish of “our own truth!” Following, “Modern Life” exemplifies beautifully the idea of differentially impounding the introduction into your head by using long chord-strikings and a turned up bass line, until after twenty seconds the pace picks up and you can’t help but help out the rest of the band with their continuously backing ‘whoa’s.

Light feedback with the distorted guitar intro proves “Aluminum Union” isn’t here to break things up, with the catchy “to wait” only keeping attention full intact. At the chorus-verse break-off in “In the Fingernails”, there are abruptly-layered shouts to patch any holes of potentially slowing down. The breakdown of “‘Til Days Shall Be No More” lets go of you one arthritis-riddled finger at a time, ensuring you got the message.

It is overall a more complete sound than CiaS that proves some bands aping genres created last century can not only do it well, but manipulate every little thing to upgrade it to a 21st-century polish that shines like wildfire. Strike Anywhere have lit the match and have already set it ablaze.

MP3s
“Infrared”
“To the World”

STREAM
Exit English



People who liked this also liked:
Strike Anywhere - Change Is A SoundThe Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!The Lawrence Arms - The Greatest Story Ever ToldRise Against - Revolutions Per MinuteThe Loved Ones - Keep Your HeartAgainst Me! - is Reinventing Axl RoseStrike Anywhere - Dead FMNOFX - The DeclineJawbreaker - Dear YouAgainst Me! - As The Eternal Cowboy



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    Posted by Stefano on 2006-09-06 20:34:47
    My Score:

    such a great follow up to one of the best records from the past ten years.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 at 8:05 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Whoever the dumbass was who made fun of communism as sarcastically saying the soviet union was a "model for success" trying know something about history before you make statements like that. The only reason communism didn't work in teh soviet union was because towards the end it was no longer communism Stalin turned it into a sort of dictatorship and thats why it failed. As for China its population and ruthless leaders are problems and they probably have morons like you running around...............sorry for the history lesson but god some people don't know shit.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 23, 2005 at 6:35 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    "Yes, this world would INDEED be a better place if we had more communism. I mean, look at the Soviet Union and its corresponding nations! What a model for success!"

    Dumbass you don't know a damn thing, Russian communism was based on power for the workers, but was corrupted by Joseph Stalin who turned it into a dictatorship and China's population and overwhelmingly resemblence to a dictatorship through a table of powers makes it an unstable government.

    Think before you post next time.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 at 3:39 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    very nice melodic HC record with intelligent lyrics!

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 26, 2004 at 1:00 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    This record still rules all.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 10, 2003 at 9:56 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    What are you talking about "stupid pop punk riffs??" It's called Melody, lots of "hard" punk bands use it, ie., Good Riddance, Rise Against, Strung Out, Stretch Arm Strong, etc...

    good one.....these guys still cant sing...plus whats with the stupid pop punk riffs? I thought these guys were harder than that.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 10, 2003 at 9:46 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    to earlier comments, you cant have true communism, it doenst work, in one country, or a few.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 10, 2003 at 8:12 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    good one.....these guys still cant sing...plus whats with the stupid pop punk riffs? I thought these guys were harder than that.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 9, 2003 at 10:47 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    "Yeah Yeah Yeah I get the message. But this shit is lame...learm how to sing."

    learn how to spell......

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 9, 2003 at 6:39 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Yeah Yeah Yeah I get the message. But this shit is lame...learm how to sing.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at 9:32 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I'm loving this album right now.

    Best PW would have to be s/t with Unknown Road coming second and About Time third.
    Oh yes, and I am completely aware Pennywise sucks for whoever is about to come up with that statement.

    ...evildeadalive

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at 12:27 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Good but at this point I still like "Change is a Sound" better.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 7, 2003 at 10:53 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    yeah, nobody but me like Unknown Road

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-10-07 22:47:37
    My Score:

    "best pennywise cd in my opinion was unknown road"

    I prefer About Time, S/T is a close second.

    Posted by 8dollarclarinetsolo on 2003-10-07 20:34:36
    My Score:

    i like this cd for sure, yet i have to wonder why "amplify" is a track at all.... its exactly the same asthe chorus of blaze, why make them 2 different tracks? i mean it doesnt even sound any different.... ?

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 7, 2003 at 10:47 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Strike Anywhere rules, I wish they would go on tour with Pennywise...

    Posted by thriceequalsgod on 2003-10-06 22:45:01
    My Score:

    "Enough of this emo bullshit. These guys should give it up already."

    if thats a joke, thats really funny..

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, October 6, 2003 at 10:10 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Enough of this emo bullshit. These guys should give it up already.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, October 6, 2003 at 3:45 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    i like pennywise, and i like strike anywhere and a-f, i do agree though fuck authority has to have been one the most mindless songs they've ever written

    best pennywise cd in my opinion was unknown road

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, October 6, 2003 at 2:12 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    How does Strike Anywhere "educate people on certain matters?"

    Posted by NOFXPunkLTJ22 on 2003-10-06 12:15:58
    My Score:

    "Strike Anywhere is horrible. They sound just like a poor version of Pennywise. Why do bands insist on being direct ripoffs. Lets get some originality in this scene for pete sake!"

    Stupid comment of the day award. It is obvious on a first listen that strike anywhere is far different from pennywise. The lyrics are different, and since when does pennywise scream? Obvious difference.

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-10-06 10:58:16
    My Score:

    Pennywise used to rarely sing about politics and sing more about personal issues, only on their last 2 albums have they really been overtly political.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, October 6, 2003 at 9:30 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    hence "fuck authority", catchy mindless bullshit

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, October 6, 2003 at 9:29 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    This is a crazy cd. Fucking totally rocks and I can't say I truely disliked a single song. Just for the record, pennywise is shit. They only sing all that shit to get peoples attention and incite 13 year old kids to do stupid things, whereas bands like strike anywhere and a-f etc, educate people on certain matters.

    Posted by ElVaquero on 2003-10-05 23:10:18
    My Score:

    fuck bottle rocket

    Posted by dignin on 2003-10-05 23:01:54
    My Score:

    fuck thrice

    Posted by thriceequalsgod on 2003-10-05 21:49:42
    My Score:

    fuck the sex pistols.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 5, 2003 at 9:38 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    theres a difference between making idiotic mindless comments about politics to get your band attention, and then making smart observations

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 5, 2003 at 8:09 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Hahahaha... I can't believe you shitheads hate the Sex Pistols for making fun of politics, but you like this crap... Just insanely funny.

    -BSD

    Posted by ElVaquero on 2003-10-05 18:53:15
    My Score:

    does anyone else agree that the last four songs sort of annihilate the rest of the album?

    Posted by ElVaquero on 2003-10-05 18:48:54
    My Score:

    i think you guys are forgetting that this band used to be indistunguishable from good riddance. anyways... this is a fucking great record.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 5, 2003 at 12:47 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Yeah, I just checked out The Network, that HAS to be Billie Joe. By the way, the new Strike Anywhere kicks ass.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 5, 2003 at 2:19 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Completely off-topic, but today I picked up an album on Adeline Records from a band called The Network...I'm 100% sure it's Green Day using aliases and masks. Sounds just like Billie...

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 11:22 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Stike Anywhere can closley resemble old pennywise if you muffle your ears and squint your eyes while you listen

    they sound a lot more like 88 Fingers Louie, Rise Against(ex-members of 88 Fingers Louie), or Pipedown, and the only band they could be imitating is 88 Fingers Louie

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 11:15 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I'm a marxist and i hate the soviets, they ruined communism for all of us.

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-10-04 20:26:43
    My Score:

    Soviet communism was not how communism was intended to be used, therefore there really has never been a true communist nation and there never will be. Communism would never work, although it is ideal in theory.

    Posted by relay1112 on 2003-10-04 19:22:57
    My Score:

    Yes, this world would INDEED be a better place if we had more communism. I mean, look at the Soviet Union and its corresponding nations! What a model for success!

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 6:56 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    no shit, while pennywise try to be a political punk rock band strike anywhere are the real deal.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 6:27 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    This world/country would probably be a much better place if we had some of this "communist/socialist crap".

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 2:00 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Let's do away with the communist / socialist crap....

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 12:35 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    hehe, Strike Anywhere being a direct ripoff of Pennywise...good one...

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 10:37 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    http://www.outwar.com/page.php?x=1471728

    go nuts!

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 2:44 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Strike Anywhere is horrible. They sound just like a poor version of Pennywise. Why do bands insist on being direct ripoffs. Lets get some originality in this scene for pete sake!

    Posted by inagreendase on 2003-10-04 01:30:20
    My Score:

    'he sounds more impassioned than Conor Oberst *persuing his seventh grade diary entries'

    i think he meant perusing actually.

    I never made that typo in the first place, you people are silly.

    Posted by 8dollarclarinetsolo on 2003-10-04 01:07:40
    My Score:

    'he sounds more impassioned than Conor Oberst *persuing his seventh grade diary entries'

    i think he meant perusing actually. i havent got this cd yet, but from what i heard i like it.. its just hard to make a complete judgement without sitting down with the booklet and listening to it

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 12:56 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    they broke up.

    -scotty

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 12:50 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Great record. not as good as Change is a Sound. which is also not as good as Trial By Fire's Ringing the Dawn. what the hell happened to that band anyway?

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 12:13 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    to the post below, Frodus kicks ass.

    Ramo

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 3, 2003 at 11:26 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    this album is rather slow. but still good.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 3, 2003 at 9:33 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    So that's how they do it.

    - Scott
    http://www.local-felons.com/
    (eh, just don't do it.)

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 3, 2003 at 6:45 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I agree with this review more than Aubin's. Although the first time I heard this I didn't think it was as good as Change is a Sound, two listens later I realized it was AT LEAST as good.

    Posted by thriceequalsgod on 2003-10-03 18:11:00
    My Score:

    well said. i love this album, and the review was really good in describing this album. its easily one of the top 5 of the year.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 3, 2003 at 6:06 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    'he sounds more impassioned than Conor Oberst *persuing his seventh grade diary entries'

    haha niccce. clever link too.

    plus this album kicks ass. I talked to Thomas the other night..really cool guy

    Posted by dignin on 2003-10-03 18:04:30
    My Score:

    conor oberst writes better lyrics than you.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 3, 2003 at 4:24 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    The only good thing about this band is that they remind me of Frodus.

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