Smartbomb – Diamond Heist
Posted on October 25, 2008 at 8:00 am by Luke
Smartbomb had an EP released earlier in the year that sounded like some hyper kids trying to fit in with the skate-punks and hardcore bands of California. Fun, but a little messy. For their debut full-length, “Diamond Heist”, they’ve completely cleaned up the sound production and created an almost perfect combination of speed, adrenaline and melody.
Right from the start the music has an intense quality that every punk album should have with speedy guitar and drum interaction and energetic hooks. Eric Widing’s vocals are definitely one of the most distinct in today’s punk era– very close to Strike Anywhere’s Thomas Barnett with the harmonic voice jumps. There’s definitely a sense of anger in his voice but it’s kept back as he lets the lyrics do all the screaming.
Which brings us to the lyrics, and with song titles like “Barely Legal” and “Avoid The Lloyd” the band gives off a humorous impression. But while there is some random humor mixed through the album, most of the lyrics are all but laughable. “Barely Legal” talks about all the kids who are shipped off to war without being old enough to question why, while the hardcore influenced “Crucial Times” has a political agenda to make people think for themselves and deals with the “propaganda machine… whether it be communism or the most modern terrorism”, definitely thought provoking and catchy with the “Hey! These are crucial times!” gang chant at the end.
An advantage to “Diamond Heist” is the array of sounds this No Trigger side project has, from the white-boy reggae intro on “In My Dreams”, an amusing twist to keep your attention, to the daring, yet catchy, three-minute intermission. For the flipside, the only thing I have a problem with is the fade-out at the end of “Blood & Sand”; there’s no reason for a fading out in punk rock, leave that for the radio friendly. But with that said, Smatbomb’s solid knowledge of the punk way of life will certainly win over fans of the genre.
Released September 16, 2008
Smartbomb at MySpace
Think Fast! Records at MySpace
Buy this album at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca
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