Proving to be one of the most innovative upcoming acts to come across within the last few years, Drug Church is a unique, yet explosive, entity of its own. While vocalist Patrick Kindlon is not busy making jaws drop in awe and confusion with mystifying post-hardcore veterans in Self Defense Family (End Of A Year), he continues to speak his mind and craft together songs with Drug Church; a more aggressive outlet that appears to satisfy the admiration's of his hardcore influenced roots. Recently, Drug Church began to make heads spin with their interesting heavy-hitting sound by gaining press attention from respected sources, immediately after the release of their thought-provoking self-titled EP, along with their Secret Voice Records release, Party At Dead Man's/Selling Drugs From Mom's Condo.
There is nothing more exciting and intriguing than anxiously awaiting a band's first full-length; especially after gaining well-deserved recognition immediately through self-released records and relentless touring to make a name for themselves. Like no other record to come out this summer, the release of Drug Church's first full-length, Paul Walker, brings to the table ten furious tracks that introduce new intriguing boundaries to perceive post-hardcore in today's standards.
Paul Walker is an album that graces listeners with a blistering series of clever songs that trace back influence from '90s acts like Seaweed and Quicksand. From start to end, every heavy-hitting note is on spot; making you feel as if you set foot into a time machine landing head-first into the pit of an old school NYHC show. This iconic sound can sound be reflected upon from tracks like "Clifton Country" and "Deconstructing Snapcase". Ironically enough, considering that Snapcase is also a significant influence to the band, it appears as if Drug Church pays homage to this passionately-aggressive sound by adding their own twist with blistering chords that transition perfectly with subtle moments of melodic undertones.
Kindlon's lyrical input into Drug Church, for one, is not too far off from the writing process of Self Defense Family. While SDF and DC are two polar opposite bands in sound that provide innovative approaches to the post-hardcore genre, the intriguing narrative that Kindoln structures in each track on Paul Walker proves to become an infatuating characteristic that will sink into eager listeners; especially to those who aren't too familiar with SDF. Possibly taken into account from interesting persecptives gained through daily personal observations, you could easily visualize the picture that has been painted by Kindlon's words.
For instance, "Learning To Speak British" provides listeners with the grueling visual of an overworked man dragging through the struggles of a repetitive 9-to-5 life without catching a break. Also, the first image that comes to mind when listening to "Attending A Cousin's Birthday Party" would definitely have to be take from the bizarre album cover. This is a song that makes you feel as if you just set foot into the backyard of an uncomfortable family gathering, surrounded by creepy distant relatives. Another breakout song that exemplifies the curiosity and wonder behind the lyrical narrative of Paul Walker, would be found in the context of the song "Donny's Woods". This song is a desensitized anthem that does not lightly accept the notion of "missing somebody when they're gone". In fact, as Kindlon lightly subtly asks in the verse, "who cares about you, man?". This question begins to drag out into a more brutally honest question, "who gives a fucking shit about you?".
Paul Walker is without a doubt one of most interesting and innovative post -ardcore records to come out this summer by far. To help satisfy your fix of embracing the intensity and head scratching brilliance of this record, Paul Walker is a highly-recommended album to turn to in order to help you drown out the grueling and uninteresting sounds of reality.
Tracklist:
1. Thinking About Joining Drug Church
2. Reading YouTube Comments
3. Clifton Country
4. Shopping For A Belt
5. Donny’s Woods
6. Learning To Speak British
7. Attending A Cousin’s Birthday Party
8. Deconstructing Snapcase
9. Thrill Hill
10. Riding The Bus To Schenectady
RIYL: Quicksand, Snapcase, Soul Control, Seaweed
Rating:
Written by Ryan McGrath
