Strung Out - Blackhawks Over Los Angeles
Blackhawks Over Los Angeles may not resonate the way Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues does, but it’s a solid, if not great, effort.
It’s no secret that Strung Out love metal- from their earliest material on Another Day in Paradise (particularly tracks like “Ashes”) to the predominantly metal-sounding EP The Element of Sonic Defiance, they have over the course of their steady career blended the furious pace of hardcore/punk with metal’s more extravagant thrashing. Some of it was grand, and some, not so much. Enthusiasts will argue that the band have stood tallest when their focus was set on the more melodic side of hardcore- both Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues and Twisted by Design are still arguably the band’s most prolific musical period- but occasionally stumble when they shy away from it. The past few albums have been pretty lean from Strung Out, neither An American Paradoxnor Exile in Oblivion had the lasting impact their predecessors’ did- and while sound in terms of songwriting, lacked the punch (and production value) of their earlier work. Yet the hiccups of the past few releases have not stopped the band from producing one of the finest albums of the genre in recent memory. With Blackhawks Over Los Angeles, Strung Out proves that longevity and a steady hand can still be, and sound, essential.
Working once again with Matt Hyde (who for some reason has done an almost 180 degree turn from Exile in Oblivion), Blackhawks just sounds absolutely terrific. It’s all guns blazing from the start as opener “Calling” is a throwback to songs like “Firecracker” with its up-tempo audio assault, and save for the unnecessary South American instrumental intro, is perhaps one of the best songs Strung Out have written since the start of the millennium. There is no shortage of melodic overtones either, as “All the Nations” (listen below) is the perfect amalgam of high-soaring choruses, toe-tapping melody, and razor sharp guitar work; reminiscent perhaps, of standouts from the past like “Solitaire.” In fact, there really isn’t a sore spot in the entire first half of the album- filled with solid outings like “War Called Home” and “Party in the Hills,” highlighting the band’s new found songwriting energy.
The second half however, is a little patchier. The best tune from the last six tracks, “Downtown,” is a more mid-tempo effort that is heavy on the hard rock riffs and melody-filled choruses, that while doesn’t have the pace of the opening salvo, paints a more languid, settled approach. “Dirty Little Secret,” has received some flak for being a “WTF?!” moment for the band- but while it certainly treads on unfamiliar ground (bouncy, pop-sounding rock), is by no means a mess of any kind. It’s actually a rather sweet sounding song; owing a bit perhaps to late-era Schleprock than agro, late 80s Bad Religion. After these two, there is just not much that stands outs in the latter part- not entirely a knock as the songs are all solid, it is just that they lack the pervasive urgency that the first half of the album exhibited.
Shortcomings aside, Strung Out have found the perfect meshing of their love of metal and what they do best: shredding the boundaries of melodic hardcore like few have ever done before them. The album may just be the best way to connect fans of their earlier work to those more disposed to more recent outings. Blackhawks Over Los Angeles may not resonate the way Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues does, but it’s a solid, if not great, effort that just falls short of being stellar.
(Fat Wreck Chords)