Thursday, May 10, 2012

Strike To Survive - Mirror Mirror EP


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     A friend of mine named Adrien recommended this band to me a few weeks ago. I had heard of them before but had yet to check out what they were offering. Figuring as I have consistently trusted Adrien's musical tastes and recommendations before, I was plenty certain I wouldn't be let down. Little did I know at the time how absolutely addicting these songs would become for me.
     Strike To Survive come from Santa Rosa, California, which is just a short drive from my old stomping grounds of Oakland. You can definitely hear that Bay Area Post-Posi-Hardcore sound in these songs. By that I mean, California positive injected with a certain level of doom and gloom that comes from living in an area that houses an unusually large number of chemical factories. The air is sweet and sour and prone to acid rain. The sun shines gloriously through the smog clouds as more and more condos are erected in order to drive out the poor. Strike To Survive completely encompass that pissed and pondering attitude with much aplomb. These songs are short blasts of bile and bitterness that do a great job of reminding me how I felt when I first heard Charles Bronson, Assholeparade, Tear It Up and Amdi Petersens Arme. Straight-forward and chaotic while still retaining potent levels of inventiveness, I hear bits and pieces that bring to mind bands like Twelve Hour Turn and Swing Kids too. So basically, these guys play Powerviolence-esque Hadcore with little twinges of Post-Hardcore scattered throughout. The prose-like lyrics are vague sociopolitical diatribes against those retched rulers and the meek, modest hordes who are unwilling to speak up and act to bring about a better future for themselves and those around them. There is also quite a lot of introspection and soul searching going on here. Questioning the what, why and how of our day-to-day existence and what we can do to live a more involved life.  The vocalist Anthony screams and shouts the lyrics with rage and conviction, only adding to the awesome energy that these guys exude. I am stoked that the Hardcore scene in the 'Rosa is thriving. I hope there are more bands like this playing around there. That city needs it!! I would love to book a show for these guys in Seattle. My old ass would probably even attempt some stage dives. Love It!!!!!

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