And This Army - Foe cd
Rarely, music I listen to paints an image of a city, its streets or other, should I say, man-made structures. Mostly my music is all about backing up what comes inside of me, soundtracks to emotions and current feelings. Of course there are exceptions, like Swedish Broder Daniel’s Cruel Town, that spoke so clearly about a place and about leaving it for survival. It still was an album that gave notes to every cruel town there is and especially to those located give or take 1 000 kilometres from folkhemmet of nordic safety. (On this matter, if you have an old issue of Vice, The Laisvall Issue to be precise, stored somewhere, please read it.)
While listening to New York’s And This Army they kind of invite me to their home. Their self-released debut Foe is by all means an album full of organic and emotional music that depending on your mood, makes you either transcend or descend into other levels. However, And This Army’s keep their feet well on the ground: Foe trusts on the holy trinity of recognizable vocals, innovative guitar work and strong beats. It makes it all sound like it have never been made before, even if you can pinpoint references from Neurosis to Sonic Youth and Gang Of Four to Black Sabbath.
It’s not that And This Army comes flawless. At times their music feels as if it’s being dragged or forced through the route. Also, I would’ve changed the track order. Still, at least by the time Foe reaches “Blackbeard” and “Stranglehold” it becomes evident that this band truly masters their vision of music. Their representation of urban insecurity does have an breath of fresh air which makes Foe so well worth remembering.
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