Following a couple of 7\u201d releases, including a split with the exceptional Empire Down, the Bay Area punk rock quartet The Complicators finally deliver this debut album that was delayed by the pandemic. As expected, it\u2019s packed with full throttle, anthemic working class punk that addresses the rising cost of living and the unnecessary fingering pointing at immigrants, and even has some tunes about the importance of a positive mental attitude. <\/p>\n
The thick guitar of the pounding \u201cPressure\u201d gets the affair started with a hard-hitting but still melodic opener that makes good use of Quincy Atkinson\u2019s barking vocals. \u201cKYHU\u201d continues the intensity with the bassist Sean Smith\u2019s finger acrobatics alongside the shouted chorus, and \u201cBlink Of An Eye\u201d balances power and tunefulness with a gruff presence that benefits a whole lot from Matt Garcia\u2019s razor-sharp guitar.<\/p>\n
Landing in the middle, the gang vocals and bouncy bass lines of \u201cAnother Round\u201d are suited for both the mosh pit and the dance floor, while \u201cWorking Man\u201d is particularly raw but still invites a sing-along thanks to the infectious rhythm section. \u201cAmerican Shame,\u201d another really gritty tune, then showcases Cameron Wallace\u2019s fluid and sturdy drumming that complements the throaty singing. <\/p>\n
My two favorite tracks bookend the listen, where \u201cTime Has Come\u201d recruits some classic hardcore ideas, but not without a harmonic aspect, too, and \u201cStreet Diamonds\u201d finishes with a furious energy that brings to mind the almighty Econochrist. <\/p>\n
Similarities to Blitz, Bishops Green, Have Heart and the large amount of street punk stars from the Pirates Press roster aren\u2019t hard to spot here. A band that actually had a record deal before they had a name, The Complicators keep the time-honored tradition of relevant and impactful punk from San Francisco alive. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":35035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[10970],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-46910","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-complicators","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=46910"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=46910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}