Playing live. Some bands have it, some bands don’t. Some bands set foot on stage and immediately feel at home, while some bands feel alien and stand rigid knocking out one song after the other in a display similar to nothing more than an album playback. Luckily, Strung Out are very much part of the former group of bands, and this 21 track collection is a fantastic way to experience them.
Unfortunately, I have never had the pleasure of actually seeing the Strung Out boys live. Over the years, they have always operated just under my radar until quite recently and as they have never played Sheffield, neither love nor proximity has made me travel to see them. Whether this makes me appreciate this live album less or more than if I had experienced their live set is open to debate, but either way, this, the fourth instalment in Fat Wreck’s ‘Live in a Dive’ series, is absolutely mind blowing.
As much as I like Bracket, No Use For A Name and Sick Of It All, this particular series never really caught my attention. That is until I heard the crowd (perfectly captured, by the way) go crazy and ‘Too Close To See’ kicks off. The first 3 songs on here are possibly the best introduction to an album ever. The aforementioned opener is a frantic burst of skate punk, followed by the wonderful ‘Monster’ (whose sing-along opening sends shivers down the spine) and then the often overlooked but fantastically dark and mysterious ‘Ultimate Devotion’. This was the second Strung Out song I ever heard, and along with ‘The Exhumation of Virginia Madison‘, holds a special place in my heart and head.
One of the most striking things about this album is how fucking tight the band are. OK, so it’s probably been though a bit of tinkering and the like, but you really cant fake fantastic musicianship and the ridiculous amount of talent on show here is staggering. As well as this, it’s only when you listen to a mix of their albums that you appreciate how good these guys are at writing a mind blowing 3 minute punk rock song. Granted, their sound may have developed over the years, and they may have taken a harder, darker and at times, frustrating path with last years ‘American Paradox’ album, but the likes of ‘Razor Sex’ and ‘Velvet Alley’ stand proudly next to old favourites ‘Rottin’ Apple’ and the fantastic ‘Bring Out Your Dead’.
The only way to truly describe the genius of this CD would be to go through each song individually and list all the little bits which make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, like the first few lines to ‘The Exhumation of Virginia Madison‘ or the about 30 seconds into ‘Cult of the Subterranean’ when the guitars, drums and bass combine and the song explodes into life. Unfortunately, this review would be thousands of words long and would be an extremely boring read. Plus, exactly how do you put into words that feeling you get when the timeless intro to ‘Matchbook’ leaves the speakers?
Speaking of ‘Matchbook’, what a fantastic way to end an album. If there was ever a song that is destined to finish every mix tape in the world, it’s this version of the Strung Out classic. The ‘Don’t look back in anger’ sing a long, the drum fills, and the extended improvisations. Everything about it is perfect. There are many highlights in this 70 minute journey, such as ‘Virginia Madison‘, ‘Monster’, ‘Ultimate Devotion’ and the ultra melodic ‘In Harm’s Way’, but ‘Matchbook’ is five minutes and one second of pure punk rock bliss.
After all that, the only problem I can highlight with this record is that it isn’t 40 tracks long and doesn’t go on forever. The only thing that stops it from getting full marks from me is that it misses out two of my favourite Strung Out tracks in ‘Jackie O’ and ‘Ice Burn’. These omissions are all that stop this from being a perfect CD. That said, if you don’t own this record, you should be horribly ashamed of yourself. I cannot express how much of a fantastic experience this really is. For anyone who has ever said ‘It’s only music’ should listen to this. This is more than just music, and Strung Out know it.
Ross