Attack in Black - Widows

This band appear to be having something of an identity crisis. At some points on this short release they are a glorious affirmation of the power of shouting over electric guitars. At others though, they are almost – whisper it – emo. ‘Broken Things’ is a storming track in the classic loud-quiet-loud tradition. There are some self-pitying emo-esque elements – “In my wonder I can weigh the loss that we all had to suffer,” sings vocalist Daniel Romano – but they are buried under the adrenaline. This track also features a fine and totally non-ska piece of punk rock trumpet. But ‘The Love Between You and I’ could well be done without. Plodding riffs and curiously nonsensical lyrics - “our emptiness reads like a sign” – add up to a joyless track and one you could be forgiven for turning off. Which would be a shame, because you wouldn’t get to ‘Cut and Run’ - a multi-layered screamer of a punk track. Here three totally different passages are welded together by Romano’s wonderfully shredded voice, which sounds like his vocal cords have been shouted to death and then attacked with a rusty fork. But in a good way.