Verse

Aggression

[3.5/5]

Calling your new record Aggression might seem like the lamest, soft-minded move a hardcore band could make. Yet anyone familiar with Verse would expect the title to operate on different levels. Perhaps it’s a critique of the current climate of war spread by the Bush regime, or the necessary popular response to it. Whatever the political stance and lyrical statements, this Providence, Rhode Island, group display leaps of faith and spurts of growth over their prior output. Not that they employ xylophones or dulcimers; rather, Aggression builds on the brickwork laid by the band’s previous releases. Their songs hinge mostly on mid-tempo beats, with occasional blasts into galloping rhythms. Yet much of the record slows down the full-charge attack in favor of a plodding pace. (This intensifies the power of songs such as “Scream.”) Vocalist Sean Murphy delivers his acerbic political vitriol with plenty of gusto, equal parts Zack De La Rocha and Rob Fish. He means it when he bellows, "No wars, no kings, we gotta stop the bloodletting." His band mean it with a dynamic and inspired third record. (BRIDGE NINE) Casey Boland

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