TRANSISTOR TRANSISTOR

Ruined Lives

Level Plane
rating icon 7 / 10

Track listing:

01. Morning Sickness
02. The Price Of Gasoline
03. Brass Bones
04. Diet Of Worms
05. Pillar Of Salt
06. The Ghost Hand
07. Harvest
08. Letter Of Resignation
09. Celluloid Rats
10. Irreversible
11. Teratogen


TRANSISTOR TRANSISTOR, the band so damn nice they had to name it twice (sorry couldn't resist). This New Hampshire-based foursome rock balls and shake walls with their edgy brand of aggro-punk. Despite the fact that the waters in which they swim have seen their name lumped in with the tragically trendy emo/scenester collective, I tend to believe theirs was a sound spawned by the Mohawk-adorned ruffians of 1970's London and then filtered to the States via underground anti-heroes such as BLACK FLAG (the influence here has more to do with attitude than the music itself, but it all goes hand in hand). The band's rabid, three-chord mayhem rekindles memories of a day when I would scrawl the letters "FTW" across any and every surface and kicks like a steel-toe to the teeth.

If kids these days are still into things like trashing their bedrooms and venturing out into the world to commit random acts of senseless vandalism in a showing of blind rebellion, then "Brass Bones", "Morning Sickness" and "Letter Of Resignation" would be some good tunes to take along for the ride. The heaviest hitter of the bunch comes by way of "Pillar Of Salt". A plodding open chord chug, driven by a pounding drum groove; this track seethes angst and adrenaline. An ear-piercing layer of feedback and droning lead bends adds flavor while the screams of "I Hope I Rot" from vocalist Nat adds credibility to the negativity. When the dust from said melee settles, TRANSISTOR TRANSISTOR shows that they aren't all piss and vinegar. Akin to the comedown felt after a night of overmedication, "The Ghost Hand" is a brilliantly depressing bluesy tune that features a hint of sullen piano in the background. Somewhere between the aforementioned melancholy and sonic street fight heard on the majority of "Ruined Lives", "Harvest" stands out as the album's epic, but in doing so seems to wear out its welcome and fails to deliver the punch I've already come to expect from this band. I'd stop short at placing "Teratogen" in the same boat as "Harvest", simply because the emotion felt from the former seems to carry more conviction.

For what it's worth, I really enjoyed the hell out of "Ruined Lives". The levels of intensity and attitude put forth by TRANSISTOR TRANSISTOR are becoming harder to find as today's punk-influenced heavy rock scene continues to water itself down. You've got to respect a band like this, which isn't afraid to take chances and step outside their own box, no matter the end result. And quite frankly, I doubt they really give a fuck what any of us think anyway.

Author:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).