The Campaign 1984

Blood for Nashville (2006)

Meg Reinecker

Before you even got the chance to decide not to give the Campaign 1984's last album a chance, they're back with their label debut on Five-Point Records, Blood for Nashville. And though it may be hard to fathom, they're still playing that Southern rock inspired post-hardcore that few acts are even bothering to touch nowadays.

Heavy bass lines and choking open up Blood for Nashville's first track, "Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Junkies." The song introduces sing-alongs into the Campaign's style with "We are the living dead," which thankfully reoccurs throughout the album. "God Don't Need a Damn He Can Walk on Water" features a pleasantly catchy chorus of "The way she walks, the way she moves. It drives me wild, it drives me crazy." While the lyrics clearly aren't something to write home about, the execution of them is noteworthy.

The album remains generally consistent until "Star Spangled Showdown," where the Campaign opt for a more ‘cheesy' approach to lyrics when they throw in "Dirty, dirty South ain't nothin' to fuck with." As if that wasn't enough to throw you off, "Mix Tape for Danzig," a two-minute, acoustic track about alcoholism comes into play.

Blood for Nashville returns to its state of "normalcy" in "God Didn't Give You That Mouth for Talking," the most ambitious, busy track, followed soon by "Robert E. Lee Verse the Concrete," whose opening could make you easily mistake the Campaign for a hardcore punk band. Finally, "Hold Me Closer" ends the album with somewhat of an epic, power-ballad sort of feel. Feel free to wonder what in the world you just listened to.

While Blood for Nashville still gives off vibes reminiscent of the Bronx, classic Southern rock influences definitely have precedence with this release. And with a raw, clearly not overproduced release, the Campaign 1984 are ready to continue treading on this relatively uncharted post-hardcore territory.