Poison Arrows - First Class and Forever

  by Jamie Rowland

published: 11 / 9 / 2009

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Review

'First Class and Forever' is the debut full-length from Chicago band The Poison Arrows, Justin ‘Atombombpocketknife’ Sinkovich’s band since 2004. The album features 10 tracks and just over 50 minutes worth of music, in the style of bands like Shellac – noise rock, math rock, post-hardcore, whatever you want to call it. It’s angry, it’s loud, and it can get a bit much after three or four songs. Not that the songs aren’t good – they are – but records of this type tend to fade into the background a little about halfway through, as tonal variation is limited when you want to sound like you’re angry all the time. There are some real high points though; ‘Future Wine’ is a great choice for the album opener, as it really grabs you as soon as the rhythm section comes in. In fact, drummer Adam Reach and bassist Patrick Morris’s playing is strong throughout, giving the songs a driving tempo that really adds to their overall effect. ‘Peruvian Mountain Fight’ is another example of when the band really play to their strong points, pulling you back into the album after a rather slow middle section. Taking the songs individually, this is a really strong debut album, but over the course of nearly an hour they start to merge together, meaning 'First Class and Forever' doesn’t last long in the memory. A record perhaps best suited for your MP3 player, where tracks can pop up on shuffle and you can appreciate them to their fullest

Track Listing:-

1 Future Wine
2 Total Beverage
3 Peruvian Mountain Fight
4 Twenty Percent Brighter
5 Casual Wave
6 An Unexploded Dream
7 Fire Up The Happiness Center
8 To Meet Eyes

Band Links:-

http://thepoisonarrows.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thepaband/