Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm relieved we got a new Bronx album this year.
I first saw the Bronx about ten years ago in San Diego opening for Lagwagon. Lead singer Matt Caughtran proudly announced before they came out, "We saw it was going to rain earlier, so we didn't think the show was going to happen, so we all did a bunch of drugs." I was intrigued. The Bronx then proceeded to blow me away as they played their set.
After that show, of course I looked them up online, of course got the album, of course fell in love with it, and of course have been in love with this band ever since. "They're HUGE!" I would proclaim to anyone who would ask me about them.
After two flawless albums, Bronx III found the band in transition and failed to make an impact with anyone. No one really noticed it and for good reason; Bronx III was lackluster both musically and sonically. III flopped hard, so the Bronx hung up their Vans and pursued Mariachi for the following five years.
Now the band is back in every sense of the word. The poor recording quality which haunted Bronx III is gone (much to my relief) and replaced with the slickest Bronx record so far. Front to back (excepting the tedious “Life Less Ordinary”) , Bronx IV is a howler, screamer of a punk record with trademark Rocket From The Crypt-like guitar riffs and pounding drums by one of the best drummers around right now. The highlights are many but, for some reason, I always fall back to “Style Over Everything,” “Ribcage” and “Wasted Youth.” Those tracks are definitely the highlights, but those who are already loving the record after their first play through are urged to try something that isn't perfectly obvious about the track list: if you try playing the songs on Bronx IV in alphabetical order, you'll end up with a better sequence than what made it on the album.
And the vinyl? This is the standard vinyl alright, but it's got some excellent touches like a download card (you'd be surprised how many bands still don't do this), a luscious red (fuchsia?) hue and an embossed cover so you can feel (FEEL!) the stripes on that tiger. Well done.
After the boring musical year which was 2012, it's good to see that the Bronx have already released one of the best albums of the year in 2013.
Artist:
www.thebronxxx.com/
www.myspace.com/thebronx
www.facebook.com/thebronx
www.twitter.com/the_bronx
Further Reading:
Ground Control Magazine – The Bronx – Bronx IV – [CD review]
Album:
The vinyl release of Bronx IV is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
