Subdued (3) – Over The Hills And Far Away

I usually like my punk with as little metal in it as possible. But I found out you can get away with a few long-haired shenanigans to my ears if you just pay attention and follow a few simple rules: sick riffs; keep the soloing discreet; crunchy trebly guitars, please, none of that bass-heavy bullshit; no growling; no hi-pitched squeals.

That's easy, see? Subdued had no problem fulfilling all my requests. When they go back to grabbing you by the hair to drag you to the end of side A, after the cool, atmospheric, bleak intermission following “Death or Lies”, they do so with two straight-up punk bangers: the mean gothic stomp of “Problem of Evil” and “No More”, a 1 minute and 44 seconds masterclass in no-bullshit classic 1-2 UK hardcore.

It’s all very dreary. The lyrics have a sort of dry gothic style, halfway between a 1940s American noir, an anarchist pamphlet and 19th century romantic poetry. The 16 page booklet, illustrated by the band’s drummer Nicky Rat, is dismally beautiful. Comparing this record to the latest Bad Breeding LP (which is kind of what the label blurb prompts you to do) I feel like the latter have a more earthly, concrete approach to the politics. Subdued sound more vague in their stance, adopting an aestheticized, poetic point of view on despair that leaves you wanting a little more substance. Still, some of the lyrics hit the right spot: “Is hope the joke?” is a line that will make any punk vocalist mad at themselves for not having thought of it first.

On Over The Hills And Far Away Subdued do it all. Mid-tempo punk stompers, breakneck hardcore ragers, top notch metalpunk, melancholic goth atmospheres—on “War Cry” even in one song. While music nerds will no doubt love to pick them apart and point out that this riff sounds just like this, the drumming is straight up lifted from that etc., I’m too ignorant and disinterested to play the game. While it won’t be the most original-sounding album of the year, it will probably be one of the best.