I'm about to throw out a statement that might shake a few of you uninitiated to the core, so prepare yourself... Ready?... I honestly think Richmond's blitzkrieg known as Cloak/Dagger have quite possibly made one of the best records of 2007, one of the best punk/hardcore records of the last two decades... and maybe even (and time will tell) one of my favorite records of all time.
I know, I know... that's three extremely heavy statements to just throw out there about a first full-length record by a band that's still earning their stripes on the road, pounding the pavement like good American hardcore purists. BUT seriously, go pick up this 14-song bomb-blast of energy and intensity and see for yourself. These cats will rock your fucking face off, then hop in their van and leave you in a cloud of sweat and dust. Just like when I found Career Suicide, there was instant shock to my system of that refreshing original hardcore sound I missed out on cuz I was born during its heyday. And I still think I'd give my left arm to be able to be 15 or 16 in 1980.
Follow me here, this single album makes me wanna yell along to the lyrics, kick random people who walk too slow on the sidewalk, rock out air-band style like there's no tomorrow, spit in the face of every physical incarnation that exists solely to keep me in a rut or cause frustration, smash anything that resembles authority, give the finger to meaningless existence, and just flat-out dance around like a nutbag... All the things that drew me into the '80s hardcore fold so wholeheartedly. This album is pure, unbridled angst and urgency, and it should not be ignored... "They Are" definitely powerful shit.
Cloak/Dagger - "Set the Alarm", ""Runways", "Bended Knee", and "Kamikazes" (Live at The Fest 6, Gainesville, FL)
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