American Steel

Dear Friends And Gentle Hearts

[3.5/5]

After releasing one of the best punk albums of the new millennium (2001’s Jagged Thoughts), American Steel were poised for the kind of genre-defining icon worship that fell to bands like Alkaline Trio and Against Me! when Am Steel instead opted to change their name and ditch punk rock altogether. After three solid full-lengths, American Steel became Communiqué in 2002, releasing three less-solid new-wave-y indie-rock records and alienating much of their old, bearded fanbase. The band’s triumphant return to form came with 2007’s Destroy Their Future, American Steel’s first album in six years and as brilliant a contribution to the punk cannon as anything in their stacked back catalog. No one could have predicated the band’s ability to stay relevant, and now comes the tricky part: Act II of The Great Comeback.



Perhaps the most interesting thing about Dear Friends And Gentle Hearts is the way it bridges the gap between the band’s two identities; the result is a record that feels truly honest, capturing not just a singular, calculated aspect of the band’s sound, but an uncensored look at a wide range of influences. While Destroy was a full-fledged punk record, Dear Friends brings in slower tempos and different guitar textures, suggesting that the guys aren’t just keeping their more experimental ideas for Communiqué anymore. That doesn’t mean there aren’t full-on Fest-ready ragers; “Emergency House Party” is your next drunk sing-along waiting to happen, while “Lights Out” bristles with all the energy of the band’s 1998 self-titled debut. There are a few missteps, like the clunky “Tear The Place Apart,” but when the band succeed at mixing shit up, they hit some pretty huge bangers, like “Finally Alone,” the best punk-rock slow jam Matt Skiba never wrote. Ultimately, Dear Friends is proof that American Steel still have vital music left to write, and offers up signs that the band are through keeping their musical influences in separately named ghettos. That can only be a good thing. (FAT WRECK CHORDS) Sam Sutherland

GO DOWNLOAD: “Finally Alone”