Let me preface this shit by saying that I’m not a completist. I liked some of their previous bands’ work more than I liked Ringers’ material, though I thought there was a vast improvement from these dudes’ first full-length to their second. Thing is—and I don’t know if it’s time, a serious stepping up of craft, or the format itself (seven songs on a 12”), but Hurry Up And Wait easily blows both LPs out of the water. All the songs have room to breathe here, and what came across as static or a little run-of-the-mill in the past has been sharpened and transformed into some really rugged, bad-ass, anthemic songwriting. I get Todd’s comparison of Bent Outta Shape and The Clash now—there’s that same snarl coupled with a confident, easy strut and exuberant catchiness. These tunes come across more like rough-hewn folk songs (and I mean that in the sense of a very misleading simplicity, how goddamn joyful this noise is) juiced up to ten than anything else. They just nailed it here. Totally awesome record.
–keith (1-2-3-4 Go!)