Albums

Crazy Arm - Born To Ruin

Richard Wink 22/07/2009

Rating: 4/5

Crazy Arm play that melodic crunch brand of punk rock, with the Bob Mould vocals, the punchy rhythms, close in tone to Against Me's New Wave, though thankfully unlike New Wave the potency and urgency is not lost in the vacuum of the recording studio. You see Crazy Arm are more than a little riled up, they are righteously passionate, dressing their rhetoric with razor wire riffs.

Born to Ruin is cranked to the gills, a scattershot of frenetic, and (oddly for a punk rock album) intricate guitar work chimed with a seething passion, that is undeniable authentic. Though I might not endorse all of Crazy Arm's politics - the leftist moans about police brutality, and promoting veganism; a real bugbear of mine, since I've never understood why anyone can get so militant about a dietary choice. I must concede that Crazy Arm at least challenges the listener to think, considering the world outside their insular bubble.

Immediately 'Asphalt' demands attention, with its funky as fudge bassline before stirring fist pumping, rowdy like a pack of wild wolves chasing a mechanical rabbit around a greyhound race track. I'm particularly enamored with the country tinged folk punk of 'Blind Summit'. The track is a nice curve ball that shows not only versatility but that the band has thought long and hard about the running order of this album.

Pleasing to the ear the majority of the album is fiercely intense, 'Born to Ruin' twists and turns, it is gloriously hectic, 'Henry Fabian Flynn' is a touching call to arms and closing song 'Christ In Concrete' spits and spirals before ending in feedback. I suppose if you are looking for comparisons you would probably look stateside, Hot Water Music (Caution era) and Rise Against (Before they signed to a major label, Revolutions per Minute) could be considered close cousins.

I think Crazy Arm has the potential to develop a rabid fan base, yet their personal ethics might prevent them from capitalizing on the lucrative opportunities that are bound to be heading their way.

Crazy Arm Myspace