This is a good band held back by poor production. Cold Blooded would be a superior release if not for the ska-sounding “pop” of the snare drum and the thinness of the guitars. Actually, they could just do with another guitarist in general. Fix these things and you fix Anchor Arms, but I guess I’m getting ahead of myself…
Anchor Arms play rock n roll infused punk with a dash of hardcore. Kind of like Leftover Crack mixed with The Explosion and maybe the Hot Snakes; that line reads pretty good, so the influences certainly stack up nicely. Lead singer and bassist James Austin certainly has the gravelly, snotty singing style necessary for this type of music; Justin Sane of Anti-Flag and Stza seem to be the benchmarks Austin is reaching for. The band is tight but flat sounding; the guitars lack a lot of presence and I’d like to see more of a gang singing approach to the “whoah-oh” sing-a-long moments.
Austin has a different sounding voice, maybe not for everyone, but he helps Anchor Arms stand out a bit from the other decent bands with poor production. Track “Poison Arrows” goes a long way towards showcasing the good and bad that seems to be at odds with this release and this band. The sound here seems like a work-in-progress, so maybe the band will hit its stride just as they find the right engineer and producer.
Label: Fail Safe
Girl And A Glacier
03%20Girl%20And%20A%20Glacier.mp3
