When Hostage Life‘s Colin Lichti barks his way through the album’s first track, ‘We Will make You Crawl’, any webzine owner will probably have kittens. “I ain’t looking for respect or rewards, please talk shit on your message boards, I don’t give a fuck if you dance to this,” he spits with a fair bit of venom. And it’s a tongue-in-cheek trait that Canada’s Hostage Life have trademarked over the years. Their recent Householdname Records-released EP showed plenty of promise but didn’t quite deliver, so it’s a relief this record further improves their reputation – even if it’s not quite as good as I might have hoped it would be.
The album’s first track, complete with Dillinger Four-esque sarcasm and a lyrical bite not bettered by that many, is as good as the band get. There are more Clash-isms than there seemed to be on the last record, ‘This Song Was Written by a Committee’ and ‘How To Die With A Smile’ are two tracks which showcase some great guitar work and a vocal attitude that One Man Army or a similar punk rock band have in abundance. This isn’t a shitty pop-punk band, this is a band that sings like their lives depend on it. Capitalism and a poke at a certain Cola firm seem to be on the band’s agenda this time round, as the band are not scared at potentially upsetting the applecart. And anyway, how can you not like a band who has a song called ‘Fuck, I Hope You’re Not Pregnant or Hey, Do You Think A Vasectomy Is Covered By My Health Insurance’?
The only negative is that the band fail to really kick on and as the album progresses there’s a missing killer hook, or the message seems to be slightly similar to the previous track. And while it’s not a bad thing, the band set themselves some very early high points and they’re not matched later on. Hostage Life are a very talented – and vocal – bunch. And while this ultimately won’t be their best album (they’re on the brink of something really special), it’s still better than most of what has been released this year.