“There’s no future living in the past”. Quite. A criticism punk rock has faced for some time. We’re facing backwards, lamenting glorified better times. Ship Thieves, notably featuring Hot Water Music’s Chris Wollard and Samiam’s Chad Darby, have likely been there. You’re only as good as your last band(s), and it’s a tough act to follow.
Having travelled the familiar road of swapping out power chords for country, to come back and make a straight up punk record feels defiant. ‘No Anchor’ carries that straight from storming opener ‘Middle Man’, a track that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Movielife album. An undoubtedly good thing. The Americana vibe is stepped back and it’s all the better for it, but not completely abandoned, with plenty of southern-tinged guitar lines (‘Rotations’, ‘Dark Days’).
