Recently I have been bemoaning the lack of decent punk albums released this year. If asked to list this year’s best releases I think a long period of head-scratching would result in very few names. However, just before 2005 becomes yesterday’s news an album has landed on my doorstep that has made me sit up and take notice. This is Stretch Arm Strong with their brand spanking new album, ‘Free at Last’.
Stretch Arm Strong should be a band that many of you are familiar with. Over the last couple of years they have toured constantly supporting a whole host of bands, from Pennywise to New Found Glory. They play a brand of punk, hardcore and melodic rock and have always been big favourites on the underground scene. Now though, they have honed their talents to perfection and have produced one of the strongest albums of this year.
‘Free at last’ kicks off with the very impressive ‘The Hardest Part’; a song that combines everything that is so good about this band. It melds melody, power and aggression to great effect and throws in a huge chorus for good measure. ‘Hearts on Fire’ continues in much the same vein, and features some very sound lyrics. ‘Faces’ builds slowly but explodes into a mass of power and another hook-filled chorus. ‘The Sound of Names Dropping’ is a definite standout and really does showcase a band at the peak of their abilities. Exactly the same thing could be said about ‘Landslide’, another example of why this album is consistently strong.
In fact, the defining aspect of this album is that it maintains such a consistently high standard throughout. Stretch Arm Strong have always been good at what they do, but I don’t think they’ve ever produced to the extent they have here. From the hardcore-tinged ‘When All Else Fails’ to the slower, more reflective, ‘A Time For Peace’, this is an album that you will listen to time and time again.
With ‘Free at Last’ Stretch Arm Strong have made an album that sounds exactly how punk rock should sound in 2005 – passionate, powerful and sincere. This is an album that grabs you from the very first listen and remains with you long after it has left the stereo.
www.stretcharmstrong.net
www.wporecords.com
Mark
