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Bayside - The Walking Wounded This one surprised me. I was expecting something along the lines of perky throwaway pop-punk, but The Walking Wounded turns out to be a much more substantial record than that. The New York quartet have crafted something that has as much rock as it does pop and punk; a record catchy but broodingly so, and gladly avoiding the usual sugary emo hooks coating the scene these days. Anthony Raneri’s vocals exude a morbid authority, and are perfectly suited to the bitter-edged lyrics. The guitars are infectious but not simply or predictably so, and retain an admirable sense of adventure. It’s the kind of attractive combination of catchiness and resentment that made the early Alkaline Trio releases so listenable. The record loses a bit of steam by the later stages, suffering a little from repetition, and borrows too much from Motion City Soundtrack on “Head On A Plate”, but these are far from fatal defects. The death of drummer John Holohan in a tour van crash in 2005 could have understandably taken the wind from Bayside, but they have honoured him in fine style with The Walking Wounded. matt |
