Rocker (feedbot)
Gold Member
Three years ago, grizzled DIY-circuit survivors Throw The Fight faced the toughest moment of their career. James Clark, the frontman who’d won them tours with luminaries Bullet For My Valentine and Black Veil Brides, was leaving to focus on his supergroup. Could they carry on with bassist Kade Kastelitz as their new singer? Would this mean a slow decline for the band who’d finally achieved the recognition they deserve? Would they still be able to make the kind of gritty, gutsy hard rock that had earned them their diehard fanbase?
‘Strangeworld’ is their answer to these questions. It’s a record with bold ambitions, aiming to make the statement that yes, Throw The Fight are here to stay and yes, they still are full of opinions. It’s also an album that harkens back to their earlier releases; gone are the large-scale theatrics, the eighties covers and stadium ambitions that characterised their recent years. Kasterlitz’s role as the new captain has brought a smaller, tighter energy to their sound, but also a wider scope to what they’re writing about. They’re aiming to comment on the whole ridiculous nature of the postmodern, post truth world; turning away from declaring things to be ‘so Hollywood’ to focus on how the band fit into society.
However, their planned rhetoric seems to have got somewhat muddled along the way. Take opener ‘Cover Your Tracks’, for instance – The band have said it’s ‘a call to action to question everything’, but the repeated line “make way for the victims” seems only tangentially related to this aim. Are we expected to stop and question who the ‘victims’ are in a mid-headbang moment of clarity? Of course not.
Similarly, ‘Sorry, Not Sorry’ is supposed to be “about releasing guilt for following your passions and dreams, realising it’s not selfish. It’s self-care,” according to Kasterlitz, but this noble sentiment comes across in the song as if it were presented by a Tumblr teen who insists that being asked to take the bins out counts as ‘trauma’. Unraveling the tangled threads of the odd planet we inhabit is a task that’s plagued philosophers forever, and you won’t find enlightenment in this album.
But, let’s be honest here, you won’t really care what they’re singing about when the musicianship is this good. All the ingredients for a stomping harder rock album are in here, from singalong choruses that sound like they mean something profound to vibrant thrash guitar and drum moments which are going to sonically rearrange your organs. Keeping their dramatic tendencies on a short leash is working for them, and sticking to producing the kind of chunky hardcore-lite sound which brought them into the mainstream means they’ve created a very solid record with their new lineup.
Ironically, this in itself creates a manifesto more profound than their well intentioned lyrics could; Throw The Fight’s new configuration is strong enough to be able to make a punchy album in spite of adversity, in the same way they used to do when they started out. Sure, they’ve updated their sound to move with the times and add in the ubiquitous electronic scratches, but they’ve still got the mix of rough and smooth that brought them success. It’s a shame that their ‘Passing Ships’ vulnerability has also been phased out, but that’s sure to return once Throw The Fight re-establish their identity as the leading purveyors of tough, honest rock. Until then, jump in the pit and have a good time without worrying about the worthiness of the sentiment behind their latest album.
KATE ALLVEY
‘Strangeworld’ is their answer to these questions. It’s a record with bold ambitions, aiming to make the statement that yes, Throw The Fight are here to stay and yes, they still are full of opinions. It’s also an album that harkens back to their earlier releases; gone are the large-scale theatrics, the eighties covers and stadium ambitions that characterised their recent years. Kasterlitz’s role as the new captain has brought a smaller, tighter energy to their sound, but also a wider scope to what they’re writing about. They’re aiming to comment on the whole ridiculous nature of the postmodern, post truth world; turning away from declaring things to be ‘so Hollywood’ to focus on how the band fit into society.
However, their planned rhetoric seems to have got somewhat muddled along the way. Take opener ‘Cover Your Tracks’, for instance – The band have said it’s ‘a call to action to question everything’, but the repeated line “make way for the victims” seems only tangentially related to this aim. Are we expected to stop and question who the ‘victims’ are in a mid-headbang moment of clarity? Of course not.
Similarly, ‘Sorry, Not Sorry’ is supposed to be “about releasing guilt for following your passions and dreams, realising it’s not selfish. It’s self-care,” according to Kasterlitz, but this noble sentiment comes across in the song as if it were presented by a Tumblr teen who insists that being asked to take the bins out counts as ‘trauma’. Unraveling the tangled threads of the odd planet we inhabit is a task that’s plagued philosophers forever, and you won’t find enlightenment in this album.
But, let’s be honest here, you won’t really care what they’re singing about when the musicianship is this good. All the ingredients for a stomping harder rock album are in here, from singalong choruses that sound like they mean something profound to vibrant thrash guitar and drum moments which are going to sonically rearrange your organs. Keeping their dramatic tendencies on a short leash is working for them, and sticking to producing the kind of chunky hardcore-lite sound which brought them into the mainstream means they’ve created a very solid record with their new lineup.
Ironically, this in itself creates a manifesto more profound than their well intentioned lyrics could; Throw The Fight’s new configuration is strong enough to be able to make a punchy album in spite of adversity, in the same way they used to do when they started out. Sure, they’ve updated their sound to move with the times and add in the ubiquitous electronic scratches, but they’ve still got the mix of rough and smooth that brought them success. It’s a shame that their ‘Passing Ships’ vulnerability has also been phased out, but that’s sure to return once Throw The Fight re-establish their identity as the leading purveyors of tough, honest rock. Until then, jump in the pit and have a good time without worrying about the worthiness of the sentiment behind their latest album.
KATE ALLVEY