Haddonfield - www.myspace.com/haddonfieldaction
Bar Brawls & Downfalls (released 2007)
Thousand Yard Stereo
This is an great album! Five songs of solid punk rock music guaranteed to get your head nodding, foot stomping and heart pounding! I have been listening to these five tracks for eight hours straight! I believe the is a follow up EP from the UK-based four piece, that previously offered a demo of the first three songs directly from the band. Now, I don't have a full history of what qualified as their first three tracks, but I believe they are included here, along with two new tracks. The very first song, "Panic" is fucking amazing! Seething drums and whining guitars lead out for the album, with a quick breakdown detailing a decline of Earth and society. The song picks up with some booming shouting choruses, and catching vivd lyrics that I think is some of the most creative writing I've read in some time. The second track "Romero" deals with a horror movie I think... Afterall the band was inspired to name themselves after the movie Halloween, perhaps they have a penchant for the darker side of things. I guess that plays out well, because on more than one occassion I felt as though I was hearing some Alkaline Trio influences, especially on "Romero". The title track is next, "Bar Brawls & Downfalls," again a fast-paced rowdy track that details a ghost's revealing sad state of being dead, or maybe undead... Not sure really what qualifies your spirit to allow you to hang out in bars in the afterlife, but what the hell I like to drink and I hope I can do it long after I expire! Next up is "A & E," a blistering potent track, that features some smashing of the drum kit that only furthers the accelerated pace that the guitars carry through the track. I got a feeling this song is a crack at the cable channel A & E and their constant barrage of crime and punishment that dominates their programming lineup...but then again I could be wrong, but it reads like someone finding a loved one dead. Rounding out the album is "Broke," a breif spout about being, well...broke. It is the one track that is a little less pulse pounding than the others, but still delivers a solid rock influence that, by my regard is just fine as Haddonfield has doen a stunning job on this EP. I look forward with great anticipation and excitement to hear more from the band in the coming months and years. Fans of Alkaline Trio, Face To Face and No Use For A Name...fucking catchy, strangely upbeat considering the lyrical content, but still a fast paced rocking album truely worthy of all the praise that gets heaped upon the band! -MG |
