Artist: Hoodlum Shouts (Aus)
Release Date: 28th March, 2012
While much of this year has been taken up by my own overblown hype regarding new albums by some of my favourite artists (The Mars Volta, Meshuggah, the impending Soundgarden release and the possibility of new Pearl Jam and Tool albums by the year’s end), it is genuinely refreshing to be listening, jaw-dropped to an album that, while I thought it would be good, didn’t expect to be such a rewarding, brilliant listen comparable to the very best music going around right now. The best way I can describe my first listening experience of Canberra based quartet Hoodlum Shouts’ debut album, Young Man Old Man, is by comparing it to daring your younger brother to punch you in the face. You know it’s coming, you know it’ll be half decent, but really, you have it in your head that because he’s smaller than you, there’s no possible way he can deliver a blow that knocks you off your feet. Then, suddenly, you’re on your back, face covered in blood, unable to speak because you have a fractured jaw and unable to recall the moments between your brother winding up and the present moment of total confusion over how he managed to inflict so much damage on your poor face. At the same time though, you have a certain sense of pride about the proceedings. There’s no ill will. He is, after all, your brother.
Young Man Old Man did exactly that to me. I knew it was going to be a decent listen, but I didn’t realise that it would be the passion-drenched powerhouse that it is. I felt, afterwards, utterly stupid for not knowing of this band earlier than I had, yet proud that I own their music and am able to listen to it as it’s coming out. From the beginning drone of instrumental intro La Nina, to the closing moments of Last Of Them, Hoodlum Shouts don’t let up. But rather than try and run you over and force you to listen to them by coming straight at you and pounding you over the head, they create an atmosphere that slowly drags you towards them. You get sucked into their world and their ideals through a sound that I’ve described to friends as “doom punk”. They are, undoubtedly, a punk band. The political nature of their lyrics, their association with the excellent Poison City Records and the non-stop, relentless attitude they display towards touring and live performance confirms this. But where many punk bands go for speed and quick statements to get their points across, Hoodlum Shouts slow everything down. They create atmospheres out of simple, repeated chords that force you to rock your head back and forth and get caught up in their groove.
The highlight of the album would have to be the two-parted title tracks, Young Man and Old Man. Placed right in the middle of the album, it is clear that the band wants particular attention paid to these tracks. When I saw them play about a month ago, vocalist Sam Leyshon, introduced the song by stating that it was about former rugby league player (and the first major professional sports person to come out about his homosexuality in Australia), Ian Roberts. The song seems to concern Roberts’s relationship with murdered teen Aaron Light. While I don’t know much about the subject (rugby stories are generally ignored in Melbourne’s mainstream media thanks to the dominance of Australian Rules Football), the song has certainly made me want to find out more, as any good punk song should. It presents you with an issue, or an incident that highlights something very specific about the world we live in and forces you to question it, form your own opinions and challenge the general consensus. On top of all of this, it is a powerful, emotion filled track that forces you to pay attention and sweeps you away with its lament of someone lost who didn’t deserve the fate that they were given.
To wrap things up, I honestly can’t recommend this album enough. Sure, it won’t be everyone’s idea of good music, but there hasn’t been a band that has invited a listener to challenge themselves and their views like this in a long, long time. I have been, and will be, listening to this album over and over again. Just like a brother with a talent for smashing faces, you can stand behind this album and be confident that it will help you fight your fights with its passion and ideals. Ladies and gentlemen, Hoodlum Shouts’ Young Man Old Man album has become my first true contender for album of the year. Be sure you head out and see them on their upcoming tour!
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