Walk the Plank

Walk the Plank (2005)

Jordan Rogowski

"So I was listening to this awesome British hardcore band the other day…"

If I had a nickel for every time in the past 5 years I heard that, I couldn't buy a Tootsie roll. That's all about to change, however, as the latest export from across the pond has released a self-titled record that's poised and ready to make them a force here in the states. Harkening back to the pissed off, stripped-down hardcore of the `80s, Walk the Plank offer up 7 tracks of quickly delivered, superbly executed hardcore music.

The songs may not offer a ton of deviation from each other, but with only 7 tracks in less than 20 minutes, it's really not an issue that ever fully comes to fruition. There's some quick guitar solos here and there that add some spice into the mix, as the scruffily delivered vocals hit harder by the minute. There's genuine anger, genuine feeling in these songs that a lot of today's hardcore bands could really take notice and benefit of. Leading into the album with some snare rolls and thick bass-lines, the album's title track is a roaring three and a half minutes deeply rooted in rock ‘n' roll rhythms. Once again however, it's the vocals that truly give not only the song, but the entire record that extra kick in the ass it needs to really be impressive.

The first four tracks are pulled from their also self-titled 7'', the last three from the band's demo, but it sounds fluid enough to be a record recorded all at the exact same time. There's no difference in talent, no difference in sound or production; everything is tight and well-oiled, and the more you listen, the more impressed you'll be by the guitarists. By and large they stick with a real gritty old-school punk sound, low tuning and lots of distortion, but the small breaks from that to let out a slick solo feels like a perfect fit each and every time.

I can only hope that more British bands will be following suit with blasts of old-school hardcore just like this. They're pissed off, and they convey it in a musically competent fashion that makes their energy all the more engaging.