I haven’t heard any of the records Stiff
Little Fingers have released since they reformed in the late ‘80s—and
I’m gonna assume that you haven’t either, unless you’re a die-hard fan—so I
can’t vouch for how Guitar and Drum stacks up against their
previous efforts. I can say that I haven’t read very many positive things
about the group in recent years, but I couldn’t find much fault with this
new disc, SLF’s first for SoCal’s Kung Fu Records. The sound
here is very much in league with the band’s early ‘80s power-pop efforts (Go
For It and Now Then)—hook-heavy, melodic, and
thoughtful/emotional without falling into nostalgia or mush. “Strummerville,”
frontman Jake Burns’ tribute to the late Joe S., could’ve been
an old-punk-crying-in-his-beer cringefest, but to Burns’ credit, it’s a
straightforward rocker with only a hint of melancholy in the “Clash City
Rocker” quote at the end. The gnashing, furious sound of SLF’s
earliest hits—the ferocious “Suspect Device” and “Alternative
Ulster”—gets a nod here and there, especially on “Empty Sky” and
“High and Low,” but this is a mellower set of Fingers on
display here, more focused on the songwriting (which is split evenly between
Burns, bassist Bruce Foxton (ex-Jam), and drummer Steve
Grantley). A handful of tunes tackle the expected social evils (“Be
True To Yourself,” “High and Low,” “Protect and Serve”),
but the most interesting tunes prove to be the ones in which Burns and Co.
address their own status as Older Guys Playing Punk. Happily, there’s none
of that Greying Graceful bullshit you hear from fortyish arena rockers—on “Still
Burning,” Burns, Foxton and Grantley refuse to dampen their punk spirits
in the face of advancing age: “If I turn my back on all the honesty you
lack/Would that make me more mature?”
I’m no one to talk about maturity, but it sounds like Stiff Little
Fingers has this getting-older-but-staying-cool thing figured out. If you’re
looking for a few pointers on that subject, here’s a good place to start.
_______________________________________________________
I haven’t heard any of the records Stiff
Little Fingers have released since they reformed in the late ‘80s—and
I’m gonna assume that you haven’t either, unless you’re a die-hard fan—so I
can’t vouch for how Guitar and Drum stacks up against their
previous efforts. I can say that I haven’t read very many positive things
about the group in recent years, but I couldn’t find much fault with this
new disc, SLF’s first for SoCal’s Kung Fu Records. The sound
here is very much in league with the band’s early ‘80s power-pop efforts (Go
For It and Now Then)—hook-heavy, melodic, and
thoughtful/emotional without falling into nostalgia or mush. “Strummerville,”
frontman Jake Burns’ tribute to the late Joe S., could’ve been
an old-punk-crying-in-his-beer cringefest, but to Burns’ credit, it’s a
straightforward rocker with only a hint of melancholy in the “Clash City
Rocker” quote at the end. The gnashing, furious sound of SLF’s
earliest hits—the ferocious “Suspect Device” and “Alternative
Ulster”—gets a nod here and there, especially on “Empty Sky” and
“High and Low,” but this is a mellower set of Fingers on
display here, more focused on the songwriting (which is split evenly between
Burns, bassist Bruce Foxton (ex-Jam), and drummer Steve
Grantley). A handful of tunes tackle the expected social evils (“Be
True To Yourself,” “High and Low,” “Protect and Serve”),
but the most interesting tunes prove to be the ones in which Burns and Co.
address their own status as Older Guys Playing Punk. Happily, there’s none
of that Greying Graceful bullshit you hear from fortyish arena rockers—on “Still
Burning,” Burns, Foxton and Grantley refuse to dampen their punk spirits
in the face of advancing age: “If I turn my back on all the honesty you
lack/Would that make me more mature?”