Poison Arrows - First Class, And Forever
The Poison Arrows have been around in one form another since the middle of the last decade but only in the last few years has the line up solidified in to the threesome we see today and ‘First Class, And Forever’ is their debut offering. Driven by the menacing bass of former Don Cabellero member Patrick Morris, ably supported by the sullen vocals of main man Justin Sinkovich and tight drumming of Adam Reach, The Poison Arrows offer up 10 tracks of what could really be post rock if it wasn’t for the singing.
Twelve months or so ago we posited the opinion that we thought post rock was starting to disappear up its own backside and we couldn’t really see how it was going to save itself. In that intervening year a number of bands have shown us that we couldn’t have been more wrong, and we couldn't be happier about that by the way, so stand up and take a bow And So I Watch You From Afar, Her Name Is Calla et al, and on the basis of this record you can add The Poison Arrows to that list.
Tracks like ‘Fire Up The Happiness Centre’, ‘Casual Wave’ and ‘Total Beverage’ artfully mix progressive musical structures with traditional song writing and the result is both intriguing and exhilarating to hear. What really catches the ear though is Morris’ virtuoso bass playing, damn the boy is good, not just underpinning the band but standing front and centre and driving proceedings onwards.
‘Twenty Percent Brighter’ and ‘The Path Of Least Resistance’ display a more contemplative side to the trio, exploring less obvious sonic territory and while these are welcome respite from the maelstrom elsewhere these gentlemen are at their finest when they let loose and never more so than on the truly magnificent ‘Peruvian Mountain Fight’.
The album was mostly recorded in Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio Studio and the ghost of the legend hangs heavy in the background all over this record, Shellac obviously feature in these guys’ record collections, but overall it’s a an extremely strong debut and is the kind of record that gives more worth the more you listen to it.
Top Tracks: 'Peruvian Mountain Fight', 'Fire Up The Happiness Centre'.
Released October 05 on File 13