Fantastic Homage to the Great Punk Bands of Yore!
J. Lyons | Philly, United States | 04/05/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"From the ominous, warped bass intro to the explosive vocals of "Entitled," you get that comfy, nostalgic DC punk feeling coursing through your veins, compliments of this vibrant Philly side project featuring Atom Goren of "His Package" fame and Dan Yemin from the almighty Paint It Black. Armalite is the happy medium between Atom's pop sensibility and caustic humor ("Metastic!") and the full-on hardcore assault that Dan practices oh so well. No slick Pro Tools magic snuck its way in this production, the basement dwellers kept it simple with raw, jangly distortion and bristling vocals delivered by "fuzzy bear sounding" singer Mike McKee and "6-year-old off-key sounding" Atom. This CD is basically an homage to the punk bands that the members grew up on. One second your hearing the criminally underappreciated Gray Matter ("When Nice People Think Dumb Things, Attack and Vote"), the next, Husker Du's "New Day Rising" is unearthed from your senses when the appropriately titled "Husker Dave" starts playing. This track also contains a very telling line that these fellas are no spring chickens and with age comes responsibility, "When you're a parent, that means no committing suicide." The "getting old" sentiment of playing on and being true to punk while being ignored by the music industry continues with the strongest track "Other Entertainers." Scratch that, I can't say strongest track, honestly, every song is quite fantastic and each has its own immensely enjoyable flavor. "New Wave" ends this phenomenal trip with a big-ass Naked Raygun dueling with Pegboy blast of epic punk goodness."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1