ALBUM REVIEW: “Blackhawks Over Los Angeles†by Strung Out
Artist: Strung Out
Album: Blackhawks Over Los Angeles
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Genre: Punk/Hardcore, Rock/Pop
Rating: 
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Yet another strong release from the grandfathers of new school punk, Fat Wreck. Constantly finding the rawest bands and sharpening them to a deadly sound should be the mission statement of Fat. Many have already criticized this record as being nail polish rock and in many ways it is, reflected by its cleanliness. But it is technically explosive to say the least.
Blackhawks Over Los Angeles blends so much of the best in straight ahead thrash and sprinkles superb accelerated rock style drumming with insane speed metal riffs. Truthfully, vocal melodies get a little too dramatized in the mix, but who cares. This record should be heralded for its many good points, and those who look deep beyond the associations should think about what a high art the punk sound is capable of reaching. Maybe we can forgive the Top-40 stereotype sound, but we cannot forget how this record flows so smooth and fast like a sailboat in America’s Cup. And maybe we can add credibility to Fat for endorsing what on the surface sounds like pop, but is much more a progressive experiment in music.
- Review submitted by Grant Inaba.