Punk has always been a hit-and-miss affair. There is a lot to be said for just getting up there and doing it, but once the liberating, lawless creative rush has run its brief course, you need to come up with the sonic goods if you want a shot at any longevity. It’s why much of the punk energy evolved into the post-punk scene back in the day.
I’m not sure where you draw the line between those two movements, but Boilermen sound like they sit on the cusp, not that genres matter that much anymore, especially ones that are fifty years old. But I mention this to illustrate that their debut album, A 1000 Words on Sound, is the sound of punk energy finding space for crucial factors like melody, songwriting, lyricism, and accessibility. Whatever next?
The songs are short, sharp, and shockingly economical, long enough to display the band’s sonic wares, short enough that they never labor the point. Or as they put it “Stop when the lyrics run out, no solos.” Well, quite!
Opener, “Curious Thing” will have you singing along before it fades out before the two-minute mark, “Right Over Wrong” reminds us that punk essentially grew out of a power-pop sound, albeit a raw and raucous one, and “Working Abroad Dub” echoes the pact that early punks and rastas formed for mutual protection back in the day. And then there are songs like “Talkbook” which revel in the velocitous, trebly bass line, speedfreak, groove of the times.
But this isn’t the punk, if indeed it is punk at all, of the Pistols or The Clash or, god forbid, Sham 69; this is a nod to the smarter, ever-evolving world of bands like Wire and Magazine and Pavement, you know, all the attitude but plenty of artistry. Lovely stuff.
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