Blake Solomon
05/01/09, 05:53 PM
Bayonets – Wishes & Wishes
Record Label: Walnut Tree Records
Release Date: Available Now
The life of an album reviewer at AP.net can be explained in one word: lists. Each week and every week we are bombarded with bands from every country and every genre. They all want a review, and by God it better be positive! It’s difficult to wade through this information due to its size and scope, so I guess it’s fate that decides these things. Or, at least it was fate that drew me to the noisy rock of England’s Bayonets. By chance I had seen them discussed in one of my favorite AP.net blogs (http://www.absolutepunk.net/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=7501) and, low and behold, they turned up in our listing soon after. Without listening to a song I requested Wishes & Wishes. Chances are, you know where this is going. I’ll say it anyway: it was the best decision I made that week.
You know, after all these reviews, I still don’t understand my need to narrate each musical experience. Maybe it’s because I believe a reviewer should seem human and conversational. Or maybe it’s because I’m not particularly good at this whole (faux) journalism thing. Those are possible reasons, sure, but how can I not be a normal dude when a band like Bayonets is pouring heart and soul and teenage-isms into my welcoming ears? Thom Craig’s emotional tales of love and loss and “Why ME?” are hackneyed and new all at once. We’ve been there and we connect, but what is it that keeps us from thinking, “F**k dude, we know: life is tough.”? Well, that’s a complicated question, despite its juvenile wording. The only reason we connect to songs about breakups is due to its subtleties. Writing the first story about something is easy. Writing the millionth story about something in an interesting manner is excruciatingly difficult.
Bayonets is inexplicably tied to Brand New, mostly because Thom Craig lists them as a major lyrical influence. But don’t get it twisted, Lacey and the Bandits have never written a grungy rocker like “Ciao Roma.” The song’s shouted backing vocals and complete disregard for overt melody is inspiring. I mean, how do you get people to sing along when you’re not singing? These songs don’t necessarily run any gamut, a favorite phrase of many reviewers, but they do induce listener action. From the first stuttering riff of opener “We Wish These Snakes Were Your Arms” to the depressing tonal qualities of “My Stupid Mirror”, Bayonets require involvement. (Get up and move already!) There’re four of them, but there may as well be ten million. Off-kilter sounds develop out of nowhere and we’re forced to search for focal points. But if I find one that’s different than yours, well, that’s ok. We’ll each feel fulfilled regardless.
There’s too many ways to judge Wishes & Wishes, so I just won’t. It’s more than an album from some “up and comer.” Wishes & Wishes is the statement of a lifetime. And to think I left such a thing to chance.
Recommended If You Like: Manchester Orchestra, Copy Haho, i'm stupid but listen, Foals (kinda), fools are right from time to time
www.myspace.com/bayonetshowl
Record Label: Walnut Tree Records
Release Date: Available Now
The life of an album reviewer at AP.net can be explained in one word: lists. Each week and every week we are bombarded with bands from every country and every genre. They all want a review, and by God it better be positive! It’s difficult to wade through this information due to its size and scope, so I guess it’s fate that decides these things. Or, at least it was fate that drew me to the noisy rock of England’s Bayonets. By chance I had seen them discussed in one of my favorite AP.net blogs (http://www.absolutepunk.net/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=7501) and, low and behold, they turned up in our listing soon after. Without listening to a song I requested Wishes & Wishes. Chances are, you know where this is going. I’ll say it anyway: it was the best decision I made that week.
You know, after all these reviews, I still don’t understand my need to narrate each musical experience. Maybe it’s because I believe a reviewer should seem human and conversational. Or maybe it’s because I’m not particularly good at this whole (faux) journalism thing. Those are possible reasons, sure, but how can I not be a normal dude when a band like Bayonets is pouring heart and soul and teenage-isms into my welcoming ears? Thom Craig’s emotional tales of love and loss and “Why ME?” are hackneyed and new all at once. We’ve been there and we connect, but what is it that keeps us from thinking, “F**k dude, we know: life is tough.”? Well, that’s a complicated question, despite its juvenile wording. The only reason we connect to songs about breakups is due to its subtleties. Writing the first story about something is easy. Writing the millionth story about something in an interesting manner is excruciatingly difficult.
Bayonets is inexplicably tied to Brand New, mostly because Thom Craig lists them as a major lyrical influence. But don’t get it twisted, Lacey and the Bandits have never written a grungy rocker like “Ciao Roma.” The song’s shouted backing vocals and complete disregard for overt melody is inspiring. I mean, how do you get people to sing along when you’re not singing? These songs don’t necessarily run any gamut, a favorite phrase of many reviewers, but they do induce listener action. From the first stuttering riff of opener “We Wish These Snakes Were Your Arms” to the depressing tonal qualities of “My Stupid Mirror”, Bayonets require involvement. (Get up and move already!) There’re four of them, but there may as well be ten million. Off-kilter sounds develop out of nowhere and we’re forced to search for focal points. But if I find one that’s different than yours, well, that’s ok. We’ll each feel fulfilled regardless.
There’s too many ways to judge Wishes & Wishes, so I just won’t. It’s more than an album from some “up and comer.” Wishes & Wishes is the statement of a lifetime. And to think I left such a thing to chance.
Recommended If You Like: Manchester Orchestra, Copy Haho, i'm stupid but listen, Foals (kinda), fools are right from time to time
www.myspace.com/bayonetshowl