Album Review: Get Dead “Honesty Lives Elsewhere”
review by Nadia Mishkin
GET DEAD have been super solid and consistent throughout 7 albums with honest, melodic-punk and heartfelt but rough lyrics. They definitely distinguish themselves from other punk-rock bands with a folk-leaning sound in Sam King’s raspy vocals and with the incorporation of acoustic guitar to accompany twangy electric riffs. They keep it original but never get away from good ‘n simple punk-rock roots. The same is true with their newest album Honesty Lives Elsewhere, which Fat Wreck Chords released July 29th.
Track List:
Silence
Choke
Dyin’ Is Thirsty Work
Grandiose
Keep Rowing, Stupid
She’s A Problem
Monte Carlo
Cliffs
Copper to Gold
Abandoned Suites
Shook
Ordnance
Honesty Lives Elsewhere sounds a little darker than some of their other stuff, but the kind of dark that makes you feel better when you listen to it. King’s vocals are a lot rougher on this album, hence the dark, angriness I’m feeling. He is pretty dynamic in going from mildly harsh to almost Tim Armstrong-esque in some of the verses, and he pulls it all off very well. The vocals go really well with the overall vibe of the album.
My favorite track Cliffs, comes in near the end of the album taking the 8th spot out of 12. It has a super-cool intro that kind of makes me feel like I am in some kind of old-western gunfighter showdown. Then King comes in with angry vocals and shouts-out what sounds to me like “OBLIVION” over the beginning of the solo, which is awesome. I’m almost positive he doesn’t actually say oblivion but I cannot figure out what the hell he does day. Oblivion is good for me.
“Soon we will vanish into the rising sun, no apologies for the destruction.” That part I got. Big fuck yeah.
The song She’s a Problem is a bit more upbeat instrumentally than the rest of the album. They change up tempos a lot and fill up all of the little spaces with good musical sounds. Two guitars is always good. In case you were wondering why “she’s a problem”:
“She takes your money out of your wallet, turns you into an alcoholic….she’s got a habit, it’s fucking tragic.”
The intro of the second to last song, Shook, actually sounds like it could be a Kings of Leon song which is very awesome because I always thought I could have really liked Kings of Leon if they played faster and more punk. This song is also another example of the powerful lyrics and melodic vocals that make this album great.
“Build it all into something that they’ll never touch, build it into something that the pressure will never crush.”
Overall, this is a super-solid album from a super-solid band.
If you’re not listening closely, the songs might start to sound all the same, but in this case that is a result of the band being solid and true to their unique style. I’m gonna keep saying solid ‘cause fuck a thesaurus and ‘cause Get Dead is super-solid and so is this album. And if you are listening closely, which you should be, you’ll notice that all of the songs are damn good.
Honesty Lives Elsewhere is available now on Fat Wreck Chords.
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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