Light The Fuse And Run
All Your Base Are Belong To Us
(Exotic Fever Records)
Being a person who finds himself on the internet quite a bit, I cringed a bit at the title of this new release by Light The Fuse And Run. For those few who didn't see the phenomenom that swept nearly a year ago now, the crux of the joke is that a line of poorly translated video game dialogue became the basis for a hilarious flash animation that was forwarded to nearly inbox in the modern world. It was one of those things that was funny once, slightly funny twice, but like all memes ended up petering out after awhile, and solicited a groan months later when people started 'discovering' it.
Now that I've gone and talked absolutely nothing about this album, let me say that Light The Fuse And Run are 5 fellows from Richmond, Virginia who play the hardcore musics like I haven't heard in awhile. Sort of like the slightly less-developed little brother of Refused amazing genre-smashing The Shape Of Punk To Come, the group shows some smarts by simply not piling on one song after another that sounds exactly the same (a trap that many many groups in the genre have fallen into). While it may frustrate those looking for something that runs straight down the line (with one arm-pumping track after another), it's refreshing to me in that it simply allows some space for breathing between all the pummeling.
Opening with a computerized voice reciting the first line of the recording, the group comes on full-bore only seconds later, blasting into "I Think They Try," with an absolutely thick rhythym section and some call and response chorus that alternately fits or doesn't (this particular listen I can identify with the scratchy response yelps). After barreling through "Other Peoples Dishes," the group throws in a nice changeup with "Not About Boys Or Girls." Starting out with sort of a mid-tempo metal feel, the track fits and starts through slower moments before again tearing loose. It's one of the more dynamic tracks on the disc and works pretty nicely.
"Crybaby Lane" drops things off to acoustic guitar, some scratchy record sounds and vocals, and while it's a nice breather, it almost feels a bit too soulful, even with the amount of variety on the rest of the release. From there, the group builds things slowly with "Instrumentsone" before launching into what is probably the best track on the disc in "The Yes Men." Hitting with some of the nicest riffs on the disc and building from quiet guitars and filtered vocals to loud releases, it shows another nice set of dynamics for the group and leads perfectly into the radio-static rumble of the downright singalong hardcore of "Six Four Nine Five." Lyrically, the group touches on what you'd probably expect from a group called Light The Fuse And Run. There's a lot to be upset about these days, and it's good to get a nice dose of straightforward vitriol with the music to back it up. It's too bad the disc ends on such a silly note (the aforementioned computer voice is back with the voice that inspired the internet-phenom animation), but it shouldn't deter anyone looking for a darn good dose of post hardcore (or whatever they're calling it these days).
Rating: 7
