Terrible Feelings : "Tremors"

I went into this album with apprehension. I am sick of these punk bands that throw a girl who wants to be Siouxsie at the mic and only get part of the equation right. I was not sure why I was even giving them a shot, except for the fact there isn't much else new around. There is more of a occult rock 70s vibe to this than post-punk. There is an organic quality like the Estranged. The drums are real and the guitar has some swagger to it. Songs like "Demon Tonight" support the occult rock leaning despite the frantic punk strum of the guitar. That is not to say there is not an 80s element to this as there is in the vocal melodies. There is something in opening notes to "The Devils Watching" that reminds me of "Pet Cemetary" by the Ramones. This returns in the bridge .

By the time we get to "Deadbeat" you can't deny that many of these songs operate under a very similar formula. Sometimes the punk is stronger and sometimes the witchy 70s dominates. the songs lean more toward punk in the fact they are short and punchy. The first dynamic shift the album takes is on "Down the Road". This is not the albums most compelling song.There is a little Patti Smith hidden in country like twang on "Bastard Child" . The song that follows is only a few degrees more punk carrying a similar twang and better lyrics. "Even Mothers" kinda blows by me like filler, but "Sin City" is a strong song. The album comes to an end on "Vultures Lament",this is the first song where I can hear the post -punk and its mainly in the drums. Regardless it does get darker and this is one of the better songs on the albums. It breaks away from the clanging formula the others began to follow, leaving only the passion the pound their instruments with to make up the difference.

I'll round this up to an 8. At times I was split as to if I wanted to go ahead and load this onto the iPod. While I enjoyed the listens I got I a not sure how this would grow on me as by the sort of music I normally listen to this comes up a little short on the dynamic side. That said these guys play with a ton of passion and if you are into darker punk with a fair amount of rock n roll in it then this is an album to not miss. Some of the vocals melodies will stick with you and expect bigger and better things from this band going forward.

7.6