At The End Of The Rope

Street punk's three-chords-and-the-truth style may be anachronistic, but it's far from dead. The Negatives channel the Clash and their descendants Rancid with gritty, mohawked fervor -- from Sweden, of all places. With raw but powerful production (by Klaus Ideberg of Swedish death metallers Darkane), At the End of the Rope packs more punch than many of punk's iconic records. The songwriting is sometimes as inspired, too. The band relies on gang vocals and walking basslines (Rancid's Matt Freeman comes to mind), but such tried-and-true devices work. "Kick It In" does exactly that, urgently challenging punk's self-imposed orthodoxy. The whining bends and defiant chorus of "Our Own Worst Enemies" are practically the second coming of the Clash; it even touches on ska à la Operation Ivy. "Under Pressure" lives up to its name, whipping its titular mantra into a climactic frenzy. Forty minutes of 1-4-5 beats does get tiring, though a heartfelt acoustic number, "The Captain," helps break things up. This record breaks no new ground -- and that's precisely the point. Sometimes it's just as rewarding to revisit the greatness of the past. ~ Cosmo Lee|