Strike Anywhere - Iron Front EP

Strike Anywhere - Iron Front EP

Clear Vinyl with Green Splatters

Released on Bridge 9 Records (B9R120), Summer 2009

Strike Anywhere on Myspace

For a long time now I've been accused of having opposite taste when it comes to Strike Anywhere: my favorite albums are Dead FM, Exit English and Change is a Sound, in that particular order. I guess what I'm about to write means good things for others? Is this the exception to the pattern?

For some reason it feels like I've heard these songs before. Maybe it's due to singer/lyricist Thomas Barnett running out of keywords for his songs and having to recycle them: generation, time, lives, crime, amplify, gunpowder, etc. The list goes on, you get the point. In a way, it makes it much easier to remember the lyrics in case you feel like singing along at a live show, which is (by far!!!) the best Strike Anywhere related activity.

What I particularly liked about this record: The vocal delivery in the chorus of Hand of Glory ("what you gonna do, what you gonna do when it's all gone without a warning"). I also enjoyed the mix of poppy-punk with the classic Strike Anywhere style at the bridge until the end of Twilight's Last Gleaming.

What I did not really like: The song Failed State. It's in the running for least favovrite Strike Anywhere song of all time. Maybe if I strongly believed in every word Thomas sings I could say something positive about this song

The best songs: (in tracklisting order) Orphan Age and Twilight's Last Gleaming. This is really too bad, because they are the 2 out of the 4 songs on this EP that do not appear on the upcoming Iron Front album. Is this a sign of things to come? Eeesh I hope not!