Cloak/Dagger

Kamikazes [7 inch] (2008)

Brian Shultz

Cloak/Dagger's 7" single for "Kamikazes" pairs that track, which comes from their 2007 full-length We Are, with a cover of the Modern Lovers' "She Cracked" on the B side.

Not many modern hardcore bands sound more appropriate on wax. Cloak/Dagger's Hot Snakes-meets-`80s hardcore sound is a great fit for vinyl, and it makes the spastic and frenetic "Kamikazes" really come alive.

The band tackle the Modern Lovers cover by making those jammed riffs sound more jagged and punctual, and speeding up the song a bit. Cloak/Dagger apply their signature grit to it, and the recording sounds even rougher than the original, but it really works. Jonathan Richman's semi-slur approach is transformed by Jason Mazzola into a more biting bark.

For a short and minimally packaged single, Kamikazes ain't half-bad.