aaamusic | On 13, Nov 2010

Bursting from Oxford to clout us with some hard and fast hardcore punk are Winnebago deal. There’s little subtlety here, but the ferocity and uncompromising edge this band tout on ‘Career Suicide’ border on the astounding, even for a band who earned their stripes supporting Fugazi.

Starting with the no-holds-barred seething aggression of ‘Ain’t No Salvation’, the album quite literally erupts from the speakers with a brief bass rumble and a guitar scrape before we’re thrown into the deep end of Winnebago Deal’s output. This and ‘Heart Attack In My Head’ are screaming, kicking bundles of power, with the whole band firing on all cylinders to deliver some real blood-and-guts tracks. This eschews a lot of nuance for raw power, which the band deliver by the shedload.

However, detail can be found in other tracks. ‘Avalanche’ shows some interesting variations on the given theme of “yell and play as loud and fast as possible”, offering a gleefully off-kilter sounding descending guitar riff matched by tumbling drums. ‘I Want Your Blood’ is an evil little beast with Misfits overtones to the woah-oh backing vocals, slasher movie lyricism, and strutting palm-muted verse guitar.

‘Can’t See, Don’t See, Don’t Know’ bursts with real bratty rock n roll intent, shredding three-chord rock n roll a la The Ramones into tatters, the energetic tones of the genre morphing into a mutant form of manic lunacy pulled off with aplomb. The snarling rock vocals are reminiscent of a more NYC-inspired D Generation, as does the band’s disembowelling of rock tunes with cymbal-edged punk ferocity. The album’s title track, ‘Career Suicide’ is a similar, if arguably cleaner, affair. The mix allows the instruments room to breathe and as a result the band’s ability to hold down some very neat and tight riffs comes to attention, even if the sheer speed leaves the drums somewhat stunted in the bridge. D Generation’s fingerprints rise again in the high-end guitar riffing and melodic hooks of ‘Set In Stone’, which reins in the band’s sheer lunacy to push forwards an aggressive yet measured approach to their material as they spew out a caustic mix of transatlantic punk influences and urgency.

One of the real standout tracks is the manic, catchy ‘Murder Will Out’, with its simple yet effective chorus, outspoken lyrics and phaser-heavy instrumental centre, all wrapped in a riff so elastic and fun it bounces off every wall it is thrown at.

The traditionalist punk rocker might feel let down by the embracing of the hardcore sonic ethics, although ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ is a stellar, surprisingly eloquent outburst that feels lifted from the beer-drenched sweatboxes of days gone by with its straightforwards chord-driven stomp.

There are tracks that are little more than circlepit fodder: ‘Frostbiter’ is a minute of blistering noise that seems to serve little purpose than to make a lot of noise in a very short amount of time. Similarly, ‘Suicide Pact’ feels a bit sloppy compared to its predecessors although its bass-driven energy is endearing.

Winnebago Deal have, with this album, shown a real and wholehearted embracing of their style, blending glam punk a la the oft-mentioned D Generation with old-fashioned dirty proto-punk riff butchery and NYC hardcore styles to create something that isn’t quite in either camp. This leads to some real moments of interest and inventiveness, but equally it means that ‘Career Suicide’ as a whole feels uneven and confusingly flaccid for such a powerhouse of an LP, with the band starting off hardcore, and travelling through the other styles as the album progresses. This might put off purist listeners from any camp, although Winnebago Deal’s evident enthusiasm may equally introduce the uninitiated to new subgenres. While not exactly accessible or essential, this is a half-hour thrill ride worthy of a good hearing out.

Author: Katie H-Halinski