Have I mentioned lately, how thrilled I am to see the Old School Hardcore making a comeback? Not just in the sense that bands who have been around almost 20 years are putting out some of their best records ever, but there seems to be a breed of new school bands putting out a ton of old school style hardcore records. One of these bands is called CORPORATE CITIZEN.
Featuring former members of CROWN OF THORNZ and GREY AREA, CORPORATE CITIZEN hail from San Diego and have already shared the stage with IGNITE, THE FREEZE, and others. The band formed in 2017 and has previously released an EP entitled “What Would He Do?”. I sat down and had a chance to listen to their new offering, A Brief Moment of Sanity and I was not disappointed one bit!
The album starts out with, and seems to maintain, an upbeat tempo and a positive vibe with the song, Batten Down the Hatches. With cool bass lines courtesy of Hal Hannen, this song also contains a fast sing-along chorus to match the speedy guitar riffs of Steve O’Brien and Luis Ramsey. A good amount of gang vocals thrown in there, and you have a great opening track. Another heavy bass intro to kick off the next track, 95 Sound. This song takes us way back to some 80’s hardcore reminiscent of Minor Threat. Especially with singer, Bob Meder’s vocals. This song brings the thrash of old school DC sounds with a new edge and is a great lead in to the third track, The Next Big Thing, which is basically old school fast riffs all day!
More of the same formula along with Dan Achin’s fast drumming techniques make the next song, Bold-Faced Lie, my favorite track on this record. The poppy feel of Trust Fails, breaks up the momentum a little and adds some dimension to this raw album. The next track, Trust Fails, is another genius song that mixes a range of influences from STRETCH ARM STRONG to REFUSED The song is heavy and fast, yet melodic. A perfect blend of hardcore punk sounds. They continue the same pace with, Got No Time, which is just as good as its predecessor.
They pick the pace back up with the next one, Just Walk Away. Sticking true to their formula, with the bass sound and fast guitars. This record does not disappoint. They close out the album with the final track, The Good One. A good closer containing all the elements listed above alongside some sing along choruses bring the album to a perfect close. I was very impressed with this band’s ability to keep the melodic sound while adding old school punk and 90’s hardcore together. A very pleasant surprise, and I highly recommend checking it out.
