Life Of Strife
Digital Warfare, 2019
9/10
It’s been two and a half decades since the last album from The Derelicts, and here the legendary ‘80s punk outfit return with 5 new tunes as well as several tracks pulled from past 7”’s.
“Life Of Strife” starts the listen with charged guitars, thundering percussion and biting vocals in the abrasive opening, and “Wrong With This” follows with a buzzing and incendiary setting of melodic punk rock.
In the grand tradition of punk, most of the tunes aren’t very long- a couple don’t even reach a minute- but The Derelicts leave an indelible mark on the gritty punk’n’roll of “I Walk Alone”, while the blistering “Mr Fuckerman” will have you searching for the nearest pit to leap into.
Near the end, “You Loose” recruits bouncy bass lines in the punchy and jagged rocker, and the most vocally melodic of the bunch, “Don’t Wanna Live”, is classic Southern California influenced punk. Near the end, “Final Fall” offers a rowdy, unrestrained tune with fluid guitar work, and “Time To Fuck Up” ends the album on a 14 second blast of their timeless fury.
An album that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t ease up, The Derelicts were punk before mainstream watered it down, and they remain true to their roots with this visceral, raw display of power and melody. As far as comebacks go, it just didn’t get much better than this.
Travels well with: The Dwarves- The Dwarves Must Die; Gas Huffer- Just Beautiful Music