| The name of this album suggests a simultaneous pull toward destruction and redemption, a need to reduce everything to rubble while reaching for heaven. This is exactly what Scottish punk quartet Deckard deliver. The album opens with ‘To Your Soul’, which falls out of an explosion into Local H-style staccato, becomes a wall of brooding distortion and grows to a glorious major-key resolution that greets the listener like clouds clearing off the sun. This establishes the wonderful tension that sustains Deckard’s music. They show careful attention to contrast, dynamic, and mood, from the thrash-inspired ‘When Picking Fights’ to the expansive, vibrant ‘Grace’s Estate.’ The finale, ‘I Dream of Dynamite,’ affirms their love for driving pop-punk. Producer and lead singer Chris Gordon dresses up the band’s sound beautifully, with guitar voices and effects that fit the occasion, and his angstlaced croon runs through it all like a hot skewer. The result is extraordinarily artful, ornamented punk rock. |
