also here is the thing that i wish people would keep in mind:
iceage are OK, the hyperbowl of this band almost goes beyond even the biggest of hyped indie bands in terms of the words being said. you'd think the press is telling people THROW OUT YOUR BLACK FLAG, OPPRESSED, GERMS, WARSAW, COMSAT ANGELS LPS. THIS BAND INVENTED PUNK ROCK. i get it, i do, they have the vibe of early post punk, the look of a weird mix of skinhead meets hipster fashion. the songs are good at best, better than your avg post punk band...
IF this LP was made by mid 20 somethings to 30 somethings, while i am sure the LP still would get press, there would be nowhere near as much. I am totally not hating on them for their age, but lets be real here, it's the idea these are KIDS doing this that is all the rage.
There's also something to be said and kind of weird about the USA shows. while only seeing them once in philly...instead of the young punk kids in the vids from over seas that make their shows seem exciting and have added to the hype, what we get in the USA is record collector nerds and punk rock dads. Sure nothing wrong with this in one sense, but really it just looks fucking odd. the "power" of those shows people saw online were the blood, the kids going nuts, here its just white dudes going "hmmmm yes yes yes i do hear a warsaw vibe, i do hear some christian death and some negative approach in that". sure there are some people who go "nuts", but it just seems odd. It is also funny to see people who have nothing to do with punk at these shows. At the philly show it just seemed like dudes who write for a blog. It felt as though that whole punk culture was bypassed in the USA and they are just now playing for people waiting for the next big thing. I might not like fucked up but at least that band had its roots in basement shows in the USA etc. They might now be the darlings of critics and be opening for the foo fighters but at least i know they worked for this
these kids have had help in the usa, ive seen so many great bands from overseas struggle to even get heard in the usa, and these kids have had their hands held each step of the way. I'm stoked that these kids get to experience these great shows, good for them, but it just feels like they have some machine behind them.
in the end, yes that record is solid it is. and it deserves praise for coming from a place of just solid good songs with a vibe not too many are doing right now. the songs are exicuted well, and if we wanna throw the age thing out there, it is because they are playing music that only 20 somethings and 30 somethings are normally playing, and thats cool. I dont wanna sound like im shitting on this band, they are good. But i've read things that have pretty much said "this is the only punk band that matters" or even really "the only band that matters". i've read the one sheet for this band, and it reads as though it was written for the hype machine. I always thought of punk as working for hype like this, it's just weird that the work wasnt really needed for an album that is OK to very good at best.
