Album Review: Still Rings True - Tear Down The Walls

There are plenty of bands that blend pop-punk and hardcore, but are we at saturation point yet? It’s a poignant question as every new band seems to be pedalling the same tired three chord combos, and shouty beat downs. There are some bands however, that look to break the mould or at the least offer a different angle, New York state three-piece Still Rings True are just such a band. They lean more heavily on the punk side of the spectrum, and make a bigger, fuller noise than their three-piece status would suggest.

Vocalist and Guitarist Josh Snyder lays out what the band is about in the opening line of first track ‘Tear Down The Walls’. As he yells “Light a match and burn this motherfucker to the ground”, you know that Still Rings True are about more than just girls and heartache. The band is discontent with the way things are, and are using music as their way vehicle for change.

Falling somewhere between Set Your Goals and Propaghandi, each song on ‘Tear Down The Walls’ is performed at breakneck speed, full of double-speed drumming and frenetic guitar riffs. In fact, on ‘Empty Words’ the band almost become metal as a guitar solo flies, during a track that lyrically questions the state of the music scene.

It’s in the bands lyrics that their wealth lies. They call out despondent friends and family on the exemplary ‘What We Carry Inside’; question the value of a consumer-obsessed society on ‘Until The Day’, where Snyder rightly states that “Life can be about more than just getting by”; and even provide an anthem for dejected youth on penultimate track ‘Anger Is A Gift’.

Detractors will say that Still Ring True are yet another band plying an already tired genre, but the truth is Still Rings True have insanely more to offer. The world needs bands that are driven by more than just fame and glory, and although they are not alone, Still Rings True are just such a band.

5/5

‘Tear Down The Walls’ by Still Rings True is available now on Third Time Lucky Records.

Still Rings True on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Big Cartel.

Dan Issit