Cab AssassinOut of the Washington, DC area comes another punk act known as Cab Assassin. This album that was sent to me by the band and is my first introduction to their music. They have previously put out a 7 song demo in 2003-04 with then singer Andy Burr, but his live was tragically cut short by a drunk driver in Jan of 2004. The album contains 9 songs, most of which were written by Andy, and serves as a living dedication to the brainchild of the band. Make no mistake about it these guys are punk through and through, they have the sounds of Bad Religion and Op Ivy, now these are just reference points because when it comes down to it these guys are all their own. You can’t really just toss these guys into one specific area, because you look at the cover art and you think this is some straight noodle ass mod type shit and then when you start listening to the album it pulls you for a one 180. This isn’t some trite pop punk band with nothing worthwhile to say nor are a bunch of bruisers who like to drink some of the cheapest 40's money can buy and slam and pogo dance till the break of dawn, rather a socially conscience band who can articulate what they have to say without coming off like an idiot. Social commentary dominates the bulk of the lyrical content, mostly shouting anti-war sentiments and the effects on the common man. Albeit, it’s been done to death but these guys put a fresh spin with good use of imagery in their themes. The instruments hold their own, they do a solid job of structuring cohesive punk songs that often break the 3 minute mark, but offer little in terms of speed and aggression in the writing, which I think would benefit their overall sound. The vocals definitely do a good job of complimenting the music, between the punk styled singing, shouts, and sparse use of gang chants the vocals are only missing some much needed venom. The production is good, I would’ve liked a little more of a raw feeling and a more dynamic sound for the guitar. Really when it comes down to it the only thing I would’ve liked to see with this release is a little more anger in their music, from top to bottom because from what I can gather this doesn’t seem like a band that is trying to peek its head into the mainstream so I would really like to see this band go off a little more the next time around and don’t hold back. This is a good release, and better than a lot of shit getting passed off as punk these days so I look forward to what the band does in the future. Just add some venom behind those deadly words.
Rating: 3/5 Songs worthy or replay: Fuck Face & Thank You Brian Schneider
Thesis: Solid punk rock from D.C. with well thought out lyrics