Gag
America’s Greatest Hits [LP; Iron Lung]

This review has been way too long in coming, which happens, but the main ingredient in there-here goat-fuck was my confusion over the release date of America’s Greatest Hits, an LP of new songs (gotcha!) that goes for the jugular. Get ready to GAG your brains out, in other words, as hardcore punk such as this seems to get heavier every year. Or maybe there’s nowhere to go but down… down… down. In any event, this quartet lays it down hard and thick in a midtempo fashion, nailing just the right balance of distortion and fuzz that’s essential to a punk record not destined to disappear in the crowd like an anonymous cat-fisher you never knew was following you to the zoo (because he/she did such a thorough job of mind-fugging you). I keep coming up with Okie Dokie, Black Flag, Creeps On Candy (in the vox), Twin Stumps, and a cloud of dust, so that’ll have to do where comparisons are concerned. GAG sound like a lot of bands and no bands at once, if that makes sense. Either that or I need to listen to more hardcore, friend. That’s entirely possible, and in that vein America’s Greatest Hits is a rip-roarin’ start to my soon-to-be punk binge. I’ll let you know how it goes, but until then pick up the white vinyl, it’s limited to 330 and is the only variant that’s not sold out like a mofo (black = 700 and gone, ditto for the 300 orange copies). This one came out awhile ago, and I’m hoping to loan a little post-release buzz because it’s a damn-fine example of the echo-punk genre, sacred and mean yet not nasty enough to incur wrath. The rage is tempered just a bit by the cavernous production, not to mention vocals that growl without barking. That’s a good thing. LET’S GO, LET’S GO, ONE-TWO-THREE-FO’!

Links: Iron Lung

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