All Else Fails "The Chase of the Gain" (Novocaine Records)
For those of you who don't know, All Else Fails is a four piece punk
band from Chicago. Their sound is some where along the lines of power punk.
Think Ten Foot Pole or No Use For a Name, and this CD definitely reminds me
of the song structure of something like Jughead Revenge's "Image is
Everything".
There's crunching guitars, starts and stops, melody and a whole lot of
energy. While I compared them to the bands above, All Else Fails also adds
their own sense of style to complete their overall sound, which I enjoy.
"The Chase of the Gain" is sixteen songs that, from start to finish, leave
you satisfied. Any fans of punk will enjoy this CD.
The lyrics are pretty straight forward accounts of life and keen
observations. Songs like "Endgame" stand out, when it starts off "It's
hopeless, my dreams are unwrought. I'm wasting time in the prison of my
thoughts". Other songs have simple messages and phrases that stand out such
as "What do you fight for?" ("Stamina"), "You're calling again, I don't care
enough to answer cause I've lost myself" ("Windfall") and "They think they're
so much better cause they've run this race" ("Candlelight"). These are very
well written words that are fun to sing along to. I can see the kids piling
up now.
Overall, if you're a fan of the kind of punk that is just straight
forward and borders fun with sincerity, then All Else Fails is for you. The
vocals and guitar parts definitely set them aside from being labeled as just
another punk band and being cast away into a sea of obscurity with so many
others. Punk bands seem to be forming by the minute these days and sounding
more and more alike with every passing minute, but All Else Fails stretches
to their own style of punk that is everything you like about the bands you
already know and something just a bit more that helps them stand out.
