I've heard pretty much my whole life that "rock 'n' roll" is a young man's game. Don't ask me where I heard this, because it has been in multiple places from different people. It's a phrase that has floated around in my mind ever since I was actually young. Now that I'm somewhere between middle age and certifiably "old," I still think about it every now and then. I especially think about it when I hear a band like Gatecrash, who are my age and can still crank out a brilliant debut LP such as this one. I also wonder: could this band have made such a masterful record any better if they were twenty or thirty years younger? The answer to that is no, I really don't believe so. I've also heard nonsense sayings like "age is just a number." Well, to anyone who has seen The Damned or the Circle Jerks, I think this saying might have some truth to it. I haven't seen anyone completely incinerate a room the way Keith Morris is doing right now. One can certainly grow old—this is a law of nature—but does one have to grow boring? At what age does Mother Nature snuff out the fire of life in one's soul? The answer to that is at any age, really, if you're not careful.
There is something to be said about a person who has lived life and can share wit, wisdom, and experience in such a warrior-poet manner, just as this band does with this collection of songs. Every track—and I do mean every single one—delivers ferocity alongside unbelievable hooks that attach to your ears as well as your heart. It's rare to see a band with such a talent for melody who can also deliver a proper gut punch, but Gatecrash does this effortlessly.
So, you might be asking yourself: where does a band like this come from? How could they just materialize and—boom!—instant street anthems are formed, fully and completely? Well, this band contains members who are no strangers to punk, rock 'n' roll, or general musical mayhem. This lineup features Maff and Russ Farrell from Dirt Box Disco, Andy Furr on bass (formerly of Knock Off), and, last but not least, Daryl Smith from the mighty Cock Sparrer and Argy Bargy!
"Oh," you say, "that's where it all comes from." Right there, you heard the magic word: Cock Sparrer! But you'd be wrong. In order for a band to sound like this—to fire on all cylinders—all members have got to pull their own weight, and that they do. They are a finely tuned machine that pushes all the bullshit and nonsense of society aside and goes for the things that matter: real human sentiment. Imagine that, huh? A band that sings so earnestly about life, love, pain, loss, and camaraderie. It seems like a rare thing these days. I just hope this is the first of many Gatecrash records to come. We need more bands like this around—not just to remind us to get out there and live life, but why we actually should.
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