Admit it. You miss
the “Take Me Out” days. The “What A Waster” days. The “Letter From An Occupant”
days. Jesus, look at you, you even miss the “Is This It” days. Because those
were the days when new music generated inexplicable euphoria that made you walk
through the streets singing along with Alex Kapranos, chain-smoking into the
washed-out faces of passers-by, and feeling that Taylor Swift will never
happen.
For all the good
music released since then, there’s been a severe shortage of that sort of
excitement. So thank God for Hop Along – whose third album, Painted Shut, is a head-spinning
rollercoaster ride. It’s criminally
good. In fact, I think there should be some kind of law against the savage
intensity of this thing. Like, erase a couple of songs from the album. Make the
girl sing with less expression. Just tone it down by a notch or two.
Painted Shut. Too good. Charismatic post-punk with guts spilling
out, adventurous and, somehow, tight and to the point. Like heavier Throwing
Muses with less edge but more swagger, this band has just released an album of
the year – even if I don’t remember any of these melodies once the album is
over. The sound is one long powerful orgasm, and let’s not even talk about the
goddamned vocal performances which are the most fascinating you will hear
all year. Rasping, wailing, screaming, and never less than irresistible.
For a while, those days are back. Cherish them.
