• Home
• News
• Features
• Reviews
• TV
• Photos
• Win
• Blog
• Magazine
• Merch
• Festivals

The Bronx - The Bronx III

After setting the bar ridiculously high with their second self-titled effort two years back, The Bronx faced a mighty challenge...

Rating: 9

After setting the bar ridiculously high with their second self-titled effort two years back, The Bronx faced a mighty challenge to match their own standards this time around.
Fortunately the Californian five-piece are way too cool to crumble under creative pressures. Instead, they've delivered yet another eponymous, sublime punk rock album, recorded in a studio they built on major label dollars before being dropped, giving them a rare level of autonomy. So not only are The Bronx cool as fuck, they're apparently also pretty damn smart.
Opening with typical timeless swagger in Knifeman, it's clear that this is very much a case of business as usual; in other circumstances this might be an insult, suggesting a band had slipped into a staid comfort zone. Not so The Bronx (in this instance, business as usual) is writing quality songs that transcend genres and musical tastes, and as Matt Caughthran's distinctive, gruff vocal belts out the opening lines, "I wanna be original, I wanna be surrounded by art / But everything is digital, the formulas are falling apart, within 15 seconds it's clear you're in for a treat.
While The Bronx embody and arouse everything that's true to the rebellious spirit of punk and rock 'n' roll, the way in which they've mastered their art form must have taken the kind of dedication expected of a geeky straight-A student. Second track Inveigh opens with a swirling, classic riff, providing the backbone to a song of immense groove, bookmarked by a soulfully sung middle-eight, before giving way to a climax spectacularly led by Caughthran's powerful performance. Past Lives, with its invigorating, good-time feel and addictive chorus immediately switches the tone.
Some of the riffs and guitar interplay on this record are quite brilliant, a case in point being the excellent Six Days A Week; at its most urgent it has a massive guitar-line Muse would be proud of, working in perfect synchronicity with masterful soloing and exceptional drumming that creates an immense sonic texture. All the more admirable is the fact that it's an incredibly catchy song, to the point where such a dichotomy of arrangements is the last thing on your mind. It just makes you want to rock the fuck out.
There's not a single bad track on this album; that doesn't make it an all-time classic, but given the crossover appeal The Bronx should command, it does make you wonder why, given their exceptional live presence, they're not huge right now. Minutes In Night exemplifies the quintet's ability to blend melody with everything that makes a distorted guitar and an energetic, portly man raging into a microphone so special.
Closing with Digital Leash, the album's most aggressive and arguably most 'punk' track, The Bronx have just pushed the bar that bit higher. Given the consistent class of this band, it's hard to imagine they have a bad album in them. Having confirmed their class, there's scant reason why they shouldn't become one of those bands your chavvy mate likes you know, Rage Against The Machine, Queens Of The Stone Age, Foo Fighters. Why the hell not? This is double-A+ good stuff. It needs to be heard, en masse.

Tim Newbound