To
x This x Day - Chapter 1: Between The Bridges - 1981
Records 2006
12 Songs
Running Time: 34:32
It goes without saying that the "x"s
in the name of New York's To This Day are silent, but we
all know what they mean. Yep, To This Day are some straight-edge,
drug-free, booze-free mofos who (like most sXe bands) make
no secret of upon which side of the fence they stand. Considering
that their debut, Chapter 1:..., is also the inaugural
release for - could it be named anything else? - 1981 Records,
this will be the world's first recorded glimpse into the
lives of TTD and the label who backs them. I've long steered
clear of politics and moral conviction when reviewing albums,
largely due to my function merely being to tell you if
the band as a whole presents itself in such a way as to
be worth your time.
Well, To This Day is. Musically, "Unfolds" is
rife with typical NYHC beatdowns circa Biohazard's last
good album, Urban Discipline. TTD do manage to steer clear
of the rap influence, though, tossing a goodsize portion
of Killing Time into the mix instead. The forward-driving "Spelunking" chugs
along, injecting an appropriate number of breakdowns in
order to "stay
true", but doesn't just go for the obvious even in laying
out those ever-popular moments. Think Ten Ton Diesel
Head,
only without the sludge flirtations, and you get some sense
of where TTD is coming from when demonstrating their kung-fu
instigation style. Where To This Day succeed and many fail,
however, is in actually building the breakdown around the
song, and not just copy/pasting one riff to another in the
valiant but misplaced hope that something will stick. "Nameless" fairly
bursts with Minor Threat influence, taking all the inherent
catchiness of early 'Threat and time-warping it into 2006,
creating a meld of tough-guy bravado and sXe ethics, the
low end rumbling like a derailing L-Train. What would an
Edge
album be without a song about the inherent dangers in breaking
the sXe code? Well, on this album that song is the brilliantly-titled "One
Hitter Quitter".
Amid burled-out breakdowns, TTD rightly take issue not with
those who don't follow the same path, but those who use the
creed as a stepping stone or an "in", only to drop
Edge for convenience sake or mass approval. "Greenhouse
Effect" charges ahead, a few off-kilter time changes
snapping the listener's attention from the plethora of breakdowns,
a testament to To This Day's understanding that there truly
is such a thing is one chugga-chugga-thud riff too many.
Would that more bands could grasp that simple fact.
I'll be the first to admit that I lose patience quickly with
standard hardcore bands, and in a scene fraught with schism
as much as it is bonded by unity, you'd think there'd be
a fucking lot more originality. Thankfully, bands like To
This Day, and albums like Chapter 1: Between The Bridges
give me hope.
www.x1981x.com |
