The healthy state of punk rock at the minute is something of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, its popularity has never been higher. On the other, however, is the fact that this popularity is mainly due to the rise of the pop-punk bands and their identikit songs about girls. How ironic then, that the people to remind us all about the true spirit of punk are a band fronted by a woman. Step forward The Distillers and their snarling front woman Brodie Armstrong. The bands second album, ‘Sing Sing Death House’ is thirty minutes of old school punk rock with a modern sound. Sum 41 fans turn away now; this isn’t going to be pretty!
The Distillers have been together for some time now and ‘Sing Sing Death House’ is an album that is a testament to their spirit and musical talent. Brodie, of course, is the wife of Tim Armstrong, and her band can justifiably be favourably compared to Rancid and other such current punk rock greats. In fact it could be argued that Brodie manages to squeeze more emotion out of her gravely voice than Tim can with his!
The first two tracks on the album give a good sense of what is to follow. Both ‘Sick of it All‘ and ‘I am a Revenant’ are spitting, snarling anthems that showcase everything that is good about the band. They feature thumping bass lines and cutting guitars that effortlessly switch from simple chord progressions to intricate solos. Coupled with the effective vocals, and the truthful, heartfelt lyrics, you realise that this is a band that wear both their hearts and their music on their sleeves.
Most of the album is played at 100 mph, and this is evident in tracks such as ‘Bullet & the Bullseye’ and ‘I Understand’. However, on occasion the band do turn the pace and aggression down a notch. In sonic terms this effect is one of having your ankle kicked repeatedly rather than having your ears bitten off! The slightly slower tracks come mid way through the album in the form of ‘City of Angels’ and ‘Young Girl’. These two songs display another side to the bands songwriting, with more great Brodie supplied lyrics. This other side is just as likable and enhances the overall feel of the album.
‘Sing Sing Death House’ is a great album, packed full of songs full of truth and emotion. Even if you don’t care for the subject matter, it shouldn’t detract you from the album because the songs still kick ass! The Distillers have managed to create an album that has it roots grounded in the 1980’s, yet still manages to sound fresh amongst the current punk scene. It is fast and aggressive, yet also filled with masses of melody. The Distillers won’t appeal to the pop end of the punk market, that much is true. However, they deserve a much bigger audience than they have, so create some room and give them a place in your record collection. You won’t regret it!
Mark