Roger Miret And The Disasters

Gotta Get Up Now

The human voice is a phenomenal thing. Whether it’s the polyp-scathing sandpaper of Jawbreaker’s Blake Schwarzenbach and Leatherface’s Frankie Stubbs, or the insane death screams of Arch Enemy’s Angela Gossow and any of the growlers who perpetuated the Florida death metal scene in the ’90s, the punk and metal scenes have always given their “singers” a lot of leeway. Then there’s Roger Miret, longtime Agnostic Front vocalist and leader of the Disasters, a fancy name for his solo project, now on their fourth album with Gotta Get Up Now. Miret’s voice sounds like a combo of a sick, barking dog and a rescued miner croaking his first words to the welcome sunlight. And we love him for it. In fact, with Roger Miret And The Disasters, the croaky one shines even more, the simplistic street punk sounds working as the sharp contrast to his amazingly rough and tumble shouts and bellows. Punk anthems-in-waiting like “Faded” and “My Own Way” allow Miret to “sing” in a similar style to his hardcore/crossover shouting in Agnostic Front, but other, more lighthearted numbers, like the title track and “Red White And Blue,” actually show Miret having, um, fun? We can almost picture a smile on his face, which is bizarre considering he’s made a career out of scaring the fuck out of anyone who gets in his path. A great, fun—but also pissed off—punk-rock record from one of the most original punk-rock vocalists of all time.

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