North to Alaska

In today’s world of rock, diversity is a much-needed ingredient to keep things moving forward. In recent years, the biz has become too comfortable in its complacency with the norm, that norm being the cookie cutter funk that major labels often find themselves lounging around in when they all find a formula that works. But real rock and roll has never been about complacency; it has always been about change, about volume and emotion and cutting to the chase. It’s an ethic that the indie labels still work by for the most part, allowing the majors to stand by and scratch their heads when the Next Big Thing comes out of left field from some other label they may not have been noticing. That Next Big Thing may very well be Alaska’s 36 Crazyfists. To those in the know, Alaska’s got a pretty damn good music scene cooking up behind everyone’s back. For starters, there’s the rootsy rock of Neil Down and Lahna Deering to be heard. And now this indeed “crazy” powerful group exploding over the lower 48 with Bitterness The Star, an album hosted by the folks at Roadrunner (who know a thing or two about marketing heavier acts without playing to the cloying tired old recipes that saturate a lot of what gets released on the bigger labels).

Featuring Brock Lindow on vocals, Steve Holt on guitar and vocals, Mick Whitney on bass, and Thomas Noonan on drums, 36 Crazyfists have created a highly enjoyable sonic fury highlighted by Lindow’s vocal tricks. They’re something that’s sure to catch all the newcomers the first time around. At first, one might think that Lindow’s patented shaky delivery is due to some filter or processor, but no, that’s really him sounding like an old film that they used to show in the high school science classes where the sound would get distorted and become “watery”. It’s a very effective sound, and one that Lindow uses only in key moments of the band’s songs. The rest of the time, he sings with an expected volume, but one that is melodic and soaring, never becoming too grumbling or distorted. Lindow keeps his rage in check and works it into the tunes perfectly.

Steve Holt’s guitar work is also a marvel to hear. On tracks such as “Eightminuteupsidedown” and the amazing “Slit Wrist Theory”, Holt works the fretboard with taste and skill that’s rarely seen in other acts. Like Lindow, he knows how to best showcase his obvious talents without going into overkill and thrashing about needlessly. On “Slit Wrist Theory”, the two work together seamlessly, playing off one another and creating an indelible amount of musical tension that is to not be missed. It’s certainly the highlight of this powerful album.

The rhythm section of Whitney and Noonan is what really keeps the band tight. Hearing the two anchor the band on such rocked-up triumphs as “Turns To Ashes” and “An Agreement Called Forever” should be revelatory to anyone who takes in a regular diet of heavy tunage. Never overly bombastic or lost behind Holt and Lindow, Whitney and Noonan set the pace and keep 36 Crazyfists the lean, mean, all-powerful kick-to-the-gut rock machine that they are. Really. If more bands could sound as tight as this one does on “One More Word”, then perhaps there’d be a few more faces to notice in the genre. But then again, that would only start the whole cookie cutter operation going and who needs that?

Other highlights include the chunky “Chalk White”, and the unstoppable “Circle The Drain”, in which the whole sound finally sounds like it might just kill anything that gets within three feet of it. But that’s the excitement you get with this group. Raising the bar a few feet for all the other groups who shall now be following this band, 36 Crazyfists have created a one of a kind hard rocking experience in Bitterness The Star. For fans of this style of music, you might not be hearing any better this year. Get it while it’s hot.