Give Up the Ghost "Year One" CD
[Bridge Nine]
This CD has the out of print "s/t" EP and "The Sun isn't Getting Any Brighter" EP all on one CD with a handful of unreleased tracks, including three that were recorded live on the BBC, and still it runs just under 30 minutes!? Go figure. You've gotta know the drill with this shit by now. They used to be American Nightmare, they got sued by some loser band with the same name, now they're Give Up the Ghost, they're hugely popular, their old records and shit sells for tons of loot on the ol' eBay, blah, blah, blah. It's fast, pissed off hardcore in the old school vein with ripping vocals, slightly rugged recordings that do the material justice, no metal, no nonsense, and so on. Three cover songs are included, "Dead and Gone" by The Trouble, "It's the Limit" by the motherfucking Cro-Mags, and "Kick Out the Jams" by MC5. The covers stand out a lot as being stylistically different from the original material, but they're actual all awesome fucking songs that are really memorable covers. As far as the sound, it's damn consistent throughout. A little more crunch to the guitars wouldn't hurt anyone on some of this, but I'm a sucker for that stuff, and if this got even a little metal even by default that could mess up the vibe, so... I can definitely live with the recordings. I like the sound of the vocals a lot, and the bass tends to play a good role, so they hold it down just fine. The live tracks are a little rawer/muddier and the vocals are out front, but they're listenable, so I don't mind too much. The layout keeps it simple with lots of brown textures, a few photos, lyrics, and the familiar cover art of the band's angel icon over the bleakly worn and tattered American flag. The lyrics are included for pretty much all of the songs, fairly straightforward, but not as generic or postured as a lot of hardcore bands can tend to get at all: "'All the kids are fucking dead,' I write with love and a gun to my head, These days aren't gonna last too long, I know, I know, I know... I'm drawing words from a tired heart, I'm drawing blood from a tired heart." I think this material is pretty damn good, I'm not 100% sure it warrants all that hype, but... they're a sincere band writing good hardcore songs, so that's more important than anything. They really only hit home for me every now and then, but I'm never let down. (7/10)
Running time - 29:29, Tracks: 16
[Notable tracks: Sore Throat Syndrome, Please Die!, Farewell, Hearts, Dead and Gone, It's the Limit, Kick Out the Jams]
Bridge Nine Records - http://www.bridge9.com

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