ECHOES IN THE STREETS
GMM
The album’s opener, “Only In America”, is a lively ditty that’s reminiscent of the Ramones hit, “Blitzkrieg Pop”, but it’s got an edginess that is all its own. This is a relatively light and cheery song, but it’s still got plenty of bite. The repetitive guitar riff comes down like a jackhammer and is almost as intense as vocalist David Matthews vocal delivery It’s a perfect compliment to the lyrics. This song, as well as all the other songs on Echoes in the Street, has some of the most overtly political lyrics you’re likely to hear in punk today.
Most of the other songs on the album’s first half are like “Only In America”, but the second half takes a slight turn down the dark side, not in an evil sense, but the musicality is angrier and the message in the lyrics more fervent. Perhaps the jewel of the album is “God Save The Children”; quite the anti-thesis of “God Save the Queen”, but nonetheless just as provoking. Musically, it’s got so many layers--sweet melodies that all of a sudden dive into angst-filled riffs, angst-filled riffs that soften abruptly into sweet melodies--drums that seem to rove every which way, but ultimately make sense--but the song’s driving force is the lyrics. I wish all music was this substantive: “You’ve got the power to destroy a country at will/but not a heart to bleed a dime, if there’s no capital gain/thirteen children a day lose their lives/well, I guess two million kids is just not enough to get your cold heart to bleed.” That should be on MTV.
The rest of the seven songs on Echoes in the Street follow suit, with the arrangements getting progressively heavier. The last two tracks are an all-out assault on the eardrums. The guys totally rock out on “Freedom Dead (For You Not Me)”. Not cutesy, cutesy melodies or flourishes of anything here. Criminal USA deliver it hard and fast on this one.
The outro, “Nothing to Show”, is smokin’ hot, but a bit of a surprise. The band returns to the joyfulness of “Only in America”, with all the melodies and gleeful chants, but the band’s social consciousness still comes out as loud as ever.
This band makes punk music how it should always be made. They have a bit more polish to them than a lot of punk bands, but they know how to make it loud, aggressive, and dirty better than most. If you’ve never liked punk before, Echoes in the Street may be the album that will change your perception.
----Eric V. White