Album Review: Drug Church “Cheer”
review by Chris Crash
Cheer is the first album that I have listened to by Drug Church, a heavy punk band from Albany, NY that approaches making music with a refreshing attitude of chillness and fun. It was the perfect type of impression that you can have with listening to a new band out of the blue: The songs felt relatable, the music itself felt magnetically compelling, and the album as a whole felt like some new and exciting ground that you haven’t been listening to in awhile. For a band that freely admits that their whole existence comes from biting a 90s heavy rock sound, Drug Church made an album with some great original and driving melodies.
1) Grubby
2) Strong References
3) Avoidarama
4) Dollar Story
5) Unlicensed Guidance Councilor
6) Weed Pin
7) Unlicensed Hall Monitor
8) Foam Pit
9) Conflict Minded
10) Tillary
Any write-up of the band or interview with singer Patrick Kindlon will be quick to point out the band’s strong reliance on that 90’s sound, as if they were trying to say it before a million people on Twitter say it to them first. I thought the same, to be fair, as the sound of Cheer strongly reminds me of a very specific point in the 90’s: the time when grunge went completely mainstream. After Nirvana’s Nevermind hit huge, the sound of American rock radio consisted of these heavy downtuned songs with pop hooks, which were made by grunge bands who realized that there was money in their cool dirty existence. Drug Church, already a band playing deep and loud for the better part of the decade, write the same style of songs with hooks so sharp that they can catch a large shark.
The earliest example of this is with the track “Avoidarama”, a song that moves along at a throbbing pace with the deep rhythm guitar and sparks into the air with higher lead guitar riffs. The thing that impressed me the most with this album was how well both guitarists (Nick Cogan and Cory Galusha) compliment each other with their playing, as their individual parts were noticeable and unique, but worked together like complex watch gears. “Foam Pit” was a great example of the band being in perfect lockstep to create a catchy bangable jam, and the album closer “Tillary” shows how well the group plays songs with interesting layers and different textures.
My favorite song on the album was “Unlicensed Hall Monitor”, which is without a doubt Cheer’s most exciting moment. The vocals and lead guitar flash brightly and forcibly, and the entire rhythm section pumps along the song like an overworking heart. The song also starts off with my favorite lyric on the album: “There’s a guy with a search history darker than a sea trench telling you how to live”. Cheer is full of lyrics like this. Very blunt and sardonic, which is great since if you’re struggling in a world as weird and dumb as this one, you have to stay sane by just sort of laughing at it. “Unlicensed Guidance Councilor” is another sardonic song that tackles a lifetime of mistakes and regrets with a *shrug emoji*. Kindlon’s lyrics play in this space of accepting life’s fucked up kinks and learning from them, which gives this well played album a very relatable edge.
If you have never listened to Drug Church before, then I can give you my guarantee that Cheer is a powerful record that will make you quick fans of the band. Its melodic heavy punk with unique vocals stay fresh throughout the entire runtime, and it is definitely one of the most engaging and rewarding beginning-to-end album listens I’ve done all year.
The album dropped November 2nd via Pure Noise Records. Order it now!
About the Author
Chris Crash 32, San Diego, CA Chris lives for the thrill of exciting and dangerous music. Give him an ear to gush about his favorite songs from Japan, and he'll probably become your best friend. Ingenious and ingobernable.
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