Album Review: The Iron Roses - The Iron Roses

There aren't many feelings better than when you come across a new band or album by random chance, and it winds up being better than the releases you've been anticipating. It hasn't happened often for me this year, but knowing there are diamonds out there that will flash in your vision when you aren't even looking for them is one of the great joys of being a music fan. It's a different kind of experience than when one of your favorites lives up to all your expectations, and it's one that can make or break a year.

The Iron Roses came to my attention that way. I listened to this record after seeing their name and the album cover, with more free time on my hands than expected after a couple of records I was expecting to be listening to obsessively flamed out in tones of misery. I was looking for something fun, something to lift my mood, and The Iron Roses fit that bill perfectly.

From the very first listen of the opening number, "Screaming For A Change", it was clear The Iron Roses had something rather special going on. The song is a protest punk anthem, bouncing along with a rapid-fire hook that is far more infectious than the majority of the music that gets labeled 'pop-punk'. Combined with the dual vocals of Nathan Gray and Becky Fontaine, the song has depth and power that really digs in. Considering that Blink 182 also put out an album released on the same day, the difference in immediate appeal is stark. The Iron Roses are clearly the winners in that comparison.

As we move through the record, the band keeps delivering on that formula, with song after song of jaunty punk numbers calling out society for its failings in the catchiest of ways. It's the old trick of subverting our expectations by putting the message in a wrapper where we might not realize what is being absorbed until we've already fallen for the songs. There is much about our current climate that deserves to be called to account, and the lack of music in the mainstream addressing these issues during our dark chapter is one of those mysteries I can't quite explain. I don't know if it was fear, or if we were just too exhausted, but the artistic backlash never developed.

The Iron Roses hit us with short-and-sweet songs that say what they need to, say it in a way that gets lodged in our minds, and then they move on to the next topic. Only one song reaches the three-minute mark, and the record itself is less than half an hour, so it's almost as if the band has so much passion they can't stop themselves from rushing through everything they want to say. That works in the album's favor, as the extra energy propels these songs forward, and gives us a record that leaves us wanting more. This is an album that I can easily find myself playing multiple times in a day, which doesn't happen very often.

To be fair, I do have to say that "The Hustle" leaves me a bit cold, with its very different approach. That song doesn't quite sound like it belongs with the other ten, but it's a minor diversion. The rest of the album is nearly perfect, and for me to say that about a punk record is really saying something. In a way, there's a similarity to Rise Against. Both bands are telling us about where society is failing us, and both write songs with hook after hook that can't be denied. The difference is in tone, where Rise Against embodies our anger and frustration, while The Iron Roses are throwing open their arms to invite people to the cause.

When it sounds this good, it's a cause worth taking up.