Through a Wall

構成数 : 1枚
合計収録時間 : 00:31:39
Personnel: Drew Thomson (vocals); Ian Romano (guitar, drums); Peter Landi (guitar, background vocals); Paris Cream (guitar). Audio Mixer: John Drew . Drew Thomson is not a happy guy. Or at very least, the Drew Thomson who goes into the studio when he makes an album with his band Single Mothers doesn't sound like he's especially comfortable with the world in which he lives. For sheer frothing rage, Thomson articulates anger better than nearly anyone making punk rock in 2018, and if you imagined the fact he's gotten his drinking problem under control might mellow him out a bit, you've got another thing coming. Arriving in 2018, Through a Wall is 31 minutes of nonstop fury, with barking guitars and snapping drums creating a suitable backdrop for Thomson's literate bile, and even when the assault lightens up just a bit on the slightly jangly "Across the Couch" or the almost hooky "Stoic/Pointless," the tension never really breaks, and Thomson's complex web of keenly observed clamor doesn't let up until the album comes to an end. Of course, punk rock has almost always been angry, but what sets Single Mothers apart is Thomson's skill as a lyricist. He may be on a tear, but he can readily explain what makes him angry and why, and the skill of his wordplay is inarguably impressive and often full of corrosive wit. While Single Mothers have always had a flexible lineup, for Through a Wall Thomson took a new approach, as he and drummer/producer Ian Romano anchored the sessions and brought in a rotating crew of guitarists and bassists to handle the rest of the instruments. While that might seem troubling if you value the traditional notion of a rock band, as far as making an album is concerned, this gambit worked brilliantly; Through a Wall is as tight and satisfying as anything Single Mothers have released to date, and the audio is straightforward and suitably punishing, just the way it should be. Perhaps less whiskey and more coffee has ramped up Drew Thomson's sense of outrage, but he knows how to use it profitably, and Through a Wall is as smart, powerful, and articulate -- or simply as good -- as punk rock gets in the 2010s. ~ Mark Deming