Album Review: Wraths – Self Titled
Wraths is a fairly new band formed by Jim Lindberg (vocals), Steve McCall (guitar), Chris Kranes (bass) and Andrew Tyler Murphy (drums), based in Hermosa Beach, CA. I wasn’t sure what to expect before I listened to the new album, but I know a lot of side projects sound really similar to the original band of the singer but I have to say, this one doesn’t quite fall into that mold!
review by Denise Borders
1. Oh God 01:34
2. What Can You Do? 01:05
3. Back Of The Line 02:19
4. War Drums 02:32
5. I’m A Target 01:29
6. Bleed It 01:46
7. Are You Serious? 02:20
8. Curtain Call 02:09
9. I Won’t Be Here 02:14
10. Fix Me 01:13
11. It’s Not Over 03:06
12. In Control 02:45
When the first track started, holy crap! It really wasn’t what I expected at all. Oh God has a really old school punk feel to it, and while it’s obviously the same vocalist, I don’t hear Pennywise as much as I expected. Rolling right into What Can You Do? it kept the same feel, this one really reminded me of Black Flag a lot. As Back of the Line started, it was consistent with the previous tracks on the old-punk feel, reminding me a lot of Black Flag, Dead Boys and bands of that era. I have to say, only three tracks in, I’m really impressed by this record. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting (not that I was expecting it to be bad), and I’m thrown by how different it sounds than Pennywise, which I guess I was waiting to hear those songs that sound just like Pennywise. Remember The Black Pacific? When I first got their album to review, I didn’t read first that it was Jim Lindberg’s new band, and when the first track played I thought “wow this band wants to be Pennywise” and then realized it was the same vocalist and sort of in the midst of him leaving PW, so it all made sense. But anyway, I’m off track.
I’ll skip ahead to Are You Serious because it’s one of my favorites on the record. I personally think this would have made a great opening track. This could be because when I downloaded the album, the tracks were all out of order and this was what I heard first. Either way, I love this song and how simple but catchy it is. In true punk album fashion, most of the tracks are pretty short so the album keeps moving right along, but thus far no track is disappointing. When I got to the Black Flag cover of Fix Me, I was pretty stoked on it. It sounds enough like the original to be respectful, yet has that twist on it enough to have their own sound put to it, which is how covers should be in my opinion. Plus this is just a great song in general so it was a good choice as a song to cover, although it’s definitely been done more than a few times. You can’t fault them for giving it a whirl.
As the album comes to a close, It’s Not Over is a little slower and sounds a bit different but with those catchy riffs that go along with the rest of the record and it’s overall sound. The beginning of the closer, In Control, almost sounds like it’s going to be a Metallica song or something, but quickly debunks that theory as the vocals start.
Now that I’ve heard the album front to back, I am extremely pleased with what I’ve just listened to. I have to give it up for these guys and the sound they’ve made on this record and I have to say that I hope to catch them live sometime and hear more new stuff from them in the future. With so many “side bands” or bands formed from previously known artists, they just seem to fade in and out so quickly, but I really like this record and I am eager to see what these guys have in store for us.
You can stream and purchase the album on the band’s website, so be sure to check over and check it out!
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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