Chris Fallon
02/12/09, 02:42 AM
Roll the Tanks - Suffer City
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Record Label: Intelligent Noise
A west coast band with an east coast attitude, Roll the Tanks are a gritty troupe of street punks with a high regard for melody. Sort of Against Me (their rhythm alone is worth the comparison) hanging out with Dropkick Murphys with certain aspects of Talking Heads, it's certainly a balls out blast of classically-themed punk rock, albeit fairly conventional and not too trying.
On their label debut, the band have evolved a great deal since their first record, a DIY cluster of rough-edged angsty anthems that have transgressed into celebrations of the streets, the people and the real-world recipes that made them into the men they are today. Whether that is good or bad is in the band's own hands, and Suffer City offers up an exploitation of struggles with violent cops ("Police Me"), lonely girls ("Bonnie Brae") and simple people trying to make their way ("Kid Can't Catch a Break").
Suffer City still shows signs of a young band coming into their own, with questionable lyrics that come off as bratty ("You oughta ask your little brother if there's a secret trick / To being kinda happy and not being a dick") or angry blog rants ("I believed in all your bullshit cause / I was born with such a sense of truth / But I see you being an asshole to me"). Sometimes the inspiration comes through too clearly, as well, which is distracting. "Coldest Non-Believer" is Reinventing Axl Rose-era Against Me and "Bonnie Brae" is a bit too close to Dropkick Murphys for comfort. The band works its magic when they bring in the stories of average people with a bottle full of melody, led by the Strummer-esque vocals of Danny Carney ("Blood Flow" and "Police Me") and the fantastic rhythm section, provided by Mike Wakeham's bass and Phillip Trudel's drumming ("Gameshow Love," a mirror of London Calling Clash, is a prime example).
The album does has a strange flow to it, as the longer songs (the highlights of the disc) start off the record. As it works its way down to the last half, the album feels rushed -- its merely an error in mechanics, throwing off the timing of the album and takes longer to adapt to (although it's nearly impossible to get over the phenomenal British stomp of "Look At Me"). With that said, however, anyone who goes for organic, raw melodic punk with a dash of street-style will eat this up and anticipate the breakthrough of these young brutes, which is bound to happen soon. At their core, Roll the Tanks is still a very young band with lots of time left to learn how to hone their craft. If Suffer City is any indication, Roll the Tanks will be demolishing anybody who gets in their way in very little time.
Against Me's Reinventing Axl Rose; Dropkick Murphys' The Gang's All Here; The Clash playing with Talking Heads; Oi! Oi! Oi!"Blood Flow," "Look At Me" and "Police Me"
1. No More Scoffing
2. Blood Flow
3. Police Me
4. Coldest Non-Believer
5. Bonnie Brae
6. Look At Me
7. Gameshow Love
8. Loaded Gun
9. Kid Can't Catch A Break
10. Defense Mecca
11. Saddle UpDanny Carney: vocals/guitar
Scott Stephens: guitar/vocals/piano
Mike Wakeham: bass/vocals
Phillip Trudel: drums/percussion/vocals
Official Site (http://www.rollthetanks.com) | Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/rollthetanks)Amazon MP3 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IDGLR4?ie=UTF8&tag=absolutepun02-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001IDGLR4)
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Record Label: Intelligent Noise
A west coast band with an east coast attitude, Roll the Tanks are a gritty troupe of street punks with a high regard for melody. Sort of Against Me (their rhythm alone is worth the comparison) hanging out with Dropkick Murphys with certain aspects of Talking Heads, it's certainly a balls out blast of classically-themed punk rock, albeit fairly conventional and not too trying.
On their label debut, the band have evolved a great deal since their first record, a DIY cluster of rough-edged angsty anthems that have transgressed into celebrations of the streets, the people and the real-world recipes that made them into the men they are today. Whether that is good or bad is in the band's own hands, and Suffer City offers up an exploitation of struggles with violent cops ("Police Me"), lonely girls ("Bonnie Brae") and simple people trying to make their way ("Kid Can't Catch a Break").
Suffer City still shows signs of a young band coming into their own, with questionable lyrics that come off as bratty ("You oughta ask your little brother if there's a secret trick / To being kinda happy and not being a dick") or angry blog rants ("I believed in all your bullshit cause / I was born with such a sense of truth / But I see you being an asshole to me"). Sometimes the inspiration comes through too clearly, as well, which is distracting. "Coldest Non-Believer" is Reinventing Axl Rose-era Against Me and "Bonnie Brae" is a bit too close to Dropkick Murphys for comfort. The band works its magic when they bring in the stories of average people with a bottle full of melody, led by the Strummer-esque vocals of Danny Carney ("Blood Flow" and "Police Me") and the fantastic rhythm section, provided by Mike Wakeham's bass and Phillip Trudel's drumming ("Gameshow Love," a mirror of London Calling Clash, is a prime example).
The album does has a strange flow to it, as the longer songs (the highlights of the disc) start off the record. As it works its way down to the last half, the album feels rushed -- its merely an error in mechanics, throwing off the timing of the album and takes longer to adapt to (although it's nearly impossible to get over the phenomenal British stomp of "Look At Me"). With that said, however, anyone who goes for organic, raw melodic punk with a dash of street-style will eat this up and anticipate the breakthrough of these young brutes, which is bound to happen soon. At their core, Roll the Tanks is still a very young band with lots of time left to learn how to hone their craft. If Suffer City is any indication, Roll the Tanks will be demolishing anybody who gets in their way in very little time.
Against Me's Reinventing Axl Rose; Dropkick Murphys' The Gang's All Here; The Clash playing with Talking Heads; Oi! Oi! Oi!"Blood Flow," "Look At Me" and "Police Me"
1. No More Scoffing
2. Blood Flow
3. Police Me
4. Coldest Non-Believer
5. Bonnie Brae
6. Look At Me
7. Gameshow Love
8. Loaded Gun
9. Kid Can't Catch A Break
10. Defense Mecca
11. Saddle UpDanny Carney: vocals/guitar
Scott Stephens: guitar/vocals/piano
Mike Wakeham: bass/vocals
Phillip Trudel: drums/percussion/vocals
Official Site (http://www.rollthetanks.com) | Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/rollthetanks)Amazon MP3 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IDGLR4?ie=UTF8&tag=absolutepun02-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001IDGLR4)