The Lawrence Arms are a band on the way up the punk ladder. After making a name for themselves on Mike Park‘s Asian Man Records, the band recently moved to Fat. ‘Apathy and Exhaustion’ is the bands third full-length album and is their best to date. It is an album that takes everything that was good about ‘Ghost Stories’, the bands second release, and improves upon it.
What you get with the Lawrence Arms is essentially two bands for the price of one. This is a situation brought about by the band having two singers. Due to the very different vocal styles of Clarence and Lehigh (for this album!), the band are able to transform the sound of the band from song to song. For instance at one point the band will sound very like Rancid, with spitting, raw vocals. On the very next song, however, the band will sound more like Alkaline Trio, with softer, more pained vocals. What is constant however, is the aggressive, yet melodic sound of the band that works in tandem with a high level of songwriting.
‘Apathy and Exhaustion’ is an album that features eleven well-written and performed songs. A mention must also go to the song titles, which are a lot more entertaining than most bands efforts. From the very first song, the snarling and catchy ‘Porno and Snuff Films’, the Lawrence Arms grab you by your ears and refuse to let go. Other tracks that see the band in full-aggression mode include ‘Navigating the Windward Passage’ and the superbly titled ‘3am QVC shopping spree hangover’. Even with the raw aggression of the vocals, however, these songs are always dripping with melody.
As has been mentioned though, the Lawrence Arms are much more than a one trick pony. They are also capable of more thoughtful and slower melodic numbers. Songs such as ‘Right as Rain part 2′ and ‘Your Gravest Words’ show a different, and very welcome side to the bands songwriting. However, it is when the band combine both their styles that they really excel. ‘Boatless Booze Cruise part 1′ is a song that starts with slow and melodic verses and later explodes into a snarling beast of a track.
Like a fine wine the Lawrence Arms continue to improve with age. Give them a couple more years and I’m sure they will have matured into a vintage punk band. As it is ‘Apathy and Exhaustion’ is a great album and is easily the bands best work to date. It deserves a place in any punk connoisseurs collection!
Mark