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The Bronx: The Bronx
06/03/13 || Habakuk
So lately I haven’t listened so much to bread-and-butter metal, but expanded my listening a bit more seriously into a few directions. Also, I revisited a couple of other bands and genres which I hadn’t paid special attention to for a while. And one band in that group would most definitely be The Bronx. Officially, these guys are called “Hardcore Punk”, which is misleading at best. If you, like me, think of studded leather jackets, mohawks and d-beats on hearing that term, it is actually wrong. This debut album of theirs, self-titled like the three that followed it until the time of writing, is a dirty, garage-like rock kick in the face, and that’s it. After this one, the guys stayed strong but changed to a less snotty version of their own self, but let’s start with this one, shall we.
The album is one of those that starts with a part that’s mixed quieter than the actual record to make you turn it up louder – whoops, ruined that surprise – but that’s actually something that you should do at any rate. This album begs to be played LOUD, and honestly, I think I almost fell for that trick the first time I spun the disc. “But why does it have to be so loud?”, Mom asked. Well, the short answer is because it’s rock and fuck and roll.
The long answer is, these guys absolutely know how to keep their shit aggressive, catchy and rhythmically interesting at the same time. No ordinary AC/DC, 4/4, La/Di/Da shit, although the twangy guitar tone might work for that just as well. Yet no going all prog on our ass either. No sir, first of all the band is faster, and secondly they have this ultra-tight habit of getting little rhythm breaks into ordinary riffs that give this album a massive amount of bite. It happens time and time again, and the drummer, a certain Mr Vik, is no small part of making it work. Carrying it all home again. Punching the rhythms into your brain, grooving seamlessly through the songs. The pauses really are one of the most important parts to music, there is no doubt after this album. When a little palm-muted bit lives through the mere rhythm, or when the guitars start/stop and hit back in with a well-timed drum hit, this, friends, Romans, countrymen – is where the magic happens. That really is what sets this album apart from its ilk, as the ingredients are basic, but the recipe is rather unique. And after a while I even got into the quieter closer “Strobe life”, which speaks for the songwriting. The guys were and are no one-trick pony.
Bottom line: If you’re in the mood for some dirty, intelligently-assembled screaming rock, look no further!
- Information
- Released: 2003
- Label: Ferret Records
- Website: http://thebronxxx.com
- Band
- Matt Caughthran: vocals
- Joby J. Ford: guitars
- James Tweedy: bass
- Jorma Vik: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Heart attack American
- 02. False alarm
- 03. White tar
- 04. Cobra lucha
- 05. They will kill us all (without mercy)
- 06. I got chills
- 07. Gun without bullets
- 08. Notice of eviction
- 09. Kill my friends
- 10. Strobe life
