The St Louis quartet draw inspiration from their roots on album three!
The cheerily-titled ‘Death & The Miser’ is the third album from Fight Back Mountain, and if lyricist/guitarist Anjelica Aquilino’s musings on the state of life in the Midwest are to be believed, then it remains true that troubled times can inspire great art. There’s plenty of soul-searching on display here; a sense of faded glory in the here and now, plus uncertainty ahead, and it’s a large part of this record’s appeal.
Fans of bands like Hot Water Music and Latterman will definitely enjoy vocalist/guitarist Adrian Barnello’s raw-throated delivery, which gives the songs a ‘lived’ feel. Listen closely, and you can almost hear the empty whiskey bottles and late night interstate drives in a battered old tour van. No? Ok, maybe that’s just us. Anyway, he sounds suitably deranged as he damn near yells himself hoarse on the grunge-tinged ‘P Is For Psycho’.
Musically, they’re also mining similar territory to Chuck Ragan’s crew, with elements of melodic punk rock and post-hardcore. ‘Scot-Free’ is an early highlight, with the immortal line: “if you want mercy, find Jesus, because I ain’t got the time” and a chorus custom-built for an epic roar-along. Y’know, at a packed-out basement show, right into the singer’s face, because he’d totally love that? No? Damn, tough crowd. There’s also an addictive alt-rock/power-pop twist to ‘Sticker Book’ and ‘Trouble And Havoc’; like much of this record, these are songs that linger long in the memory, and believe us, they’re welcome to stay.
There’s also a surprise in store in the form of ‘No Recourse’, a 1:20-long blast of hardcore fury which shows the band with their teeth bared and makes for one hell of a jolt for anyone mesmerised by their knack for catchy melodies. Apparently a nod to their roots in the St Louis hardcore scene, it’s awesome stuff, and a side of the band we’d like to hear more of in the future.
St Louis itself may have seen better days, but with songs like these, it’s hard to imagine anything other than a bright future for Fight Back Mountain. Like so many of us, they’ve realised that much of what they were told growing up is no longer true, and they’ve channelled that frustration beautifully into ‘Death & The Miser’. Treasure it – and them.
‘Death & The Miser’ is available from February 13th on all streaming platforms and on vinyl – order it HERE
Main Photo Credit: HOLLY KITE
- Like Poets Do
- Death And The Miser
- Scot-Free
- Foreman
- Sticker Book
- A Long Winter
- P Is For Psycho
- No Recourse
- Crowd Funded Surgery
- Trouble And Havoc
- Arranging A Funeral
- The House Where No One Sleeps
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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