All Wound Up are kind of a rarity for Tooth and Nail, being a band that don’t rely on 100 mile an hour drum beats and faster-than-the-speed-of-sound guitar riffs. Infact this lot are far more thoughtful and considered than a number of their labelmates, and comparisons to the Ataris and MxPx aren’t too wide of the mark.
‘100% Of Nothing’ opens things up in particularly good pop-punk fashion, with some sweet melodies and dual harmonies. ‘Any Other Way’ is a bit harder and faster, coming across a bit like ex-labelmates Craig’s Brother, another reasonably underrated band. It is more of a guitar driven song too, relying less on the melody and harmony that eminate from the vocals. Pretty cool guitar solo thrown in for good measure too, even if it is a bit of a weird tone.
Title track ‘Hero’ sounds like something The Ataris could have produced post-‘Blue Skies…’ and Troy Brock’s vocals do come across in a similar vein to Kris Roe. And this doesn’t do them a disservice, as the song is pretty cool. ‘Now Or Never’ follows in this vein, showing a slightly more upbeat style than the previous track, with Troy and lead guitarist Jeremy Kirby interchanging riffs with ease.
‘Reason’ kicks off with a long and rocking instrumental, keeping up an insane pace throughout. Troy’s vocals are again top-notch, with the backing vocals really adding some depth and quality to proceedings. ‘Show Me’ again has a long instrumental opening, but fails to get me going until the chorus, which is melodic and cooler than a cool thing. The long instrumental openings continue with ‘Seven Thirty’, a track which kind of plods along at mid pace without ever sounding as though it wants to break out and rock. The first real disappointing moment.
By now the opening thirty seconds or so are beginning to piss me off, with yet another instrumental start, so all is forgiven when ‘Bittersweet’ finally gets going because it is actually rather good, reminding me of the likes of Rufio. ‘Another Cloudy Day’ is an album highlight, with Troy reaching some pretty high notes with relative ease, although the band don’t really have to break into a sweat. Maybe some urgency would be nice guys.
‘On My Own’ sounds crunchier and has plenty of palm-muting, always a good sign. There’s even a mini bass solo which comes across like the opening to ‘Man Overboard‘ by Blink 182. ‘Unconciously Believing’ is stale and dull though, so it’s a good job the MxPx-style riffage found in ‘Sing The Gap’ leaves us with a smile when the record ends. With a bit of urgency the band actually sound really good, at other points you just get the feeling that they may be restraining themselves. Rocking out does suit you guys, once in a while at least…
‘Hero’ isn’t a bad record by any means, and fans of bands on Tooth and Nail will enjoy this. It’s nothing spectacular but it’s still an enjoyable debut by a band that have the potential to go on and produce some damn fine records.
Paul Savage