keepers - 6
keeper avg .375
When one Still Little Fingers-influenced song sounds like another Stiff Little Fingers-influenced song it's hard to say which stand out, though the first three, "Soldier's Requiem"****, "When The Walls Come Down", and "Walk In Cold"**** all have the melodies and sing-along choruses memorable enough to be noteworthy. Then a darker side emerges, as the noisy title song shares more in common with Big Black, while the thumping "Live Wire"**** has a menacing dischordancy. After this track the song quality isn't as strong, as songs like "The Mule", "Free Nation", and "Hammerhead" struggle to find a decent hook. What all the songs share in common is a shrill, reverb-saturated production that sounds dated, though there is energy in the buzzing din. Out of the remaining tracks, a blistering live cover of "Suspect Device"**** and the anthemic single "Vanilla Blue"**** ("lost control again today") are the best.
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