3 out of 5

Label: Eighty-Sixed Records

Produced by: Daniel Columbo

Punk music, very generally comprised of three-chord manipulations, frenetic drumming, and chanted, shouted lyrics, often has its standouts defined by energy and performance: any given handful of tracks from any given punk album can sound, at a high level, rather similar, but toss in some ferocity that tears through your speakers and some kinda notable something or other – a particular guitar sound, a recognizable vocalist – and you can stick out amongst the other groups tossing their hat into the ring.

Gouge Away has the energy, and they have the performance.  On their debut album, ‘, Dies,’ vocalist Christina Michelle bleats her way through 13 tracks in less than 25-minutes, the rush of instrumental pummeling and enthused shouting absolutely arresting across the disc’s first three tracks.  But when the spell breaks – when Gouge Away brings in one too many collaborators for guest vocals, when the group tries to mix it up hardcore style – while the pace and performance remains, the group doesn’t sound as balls-out confident any more, letting things settle back into a realm of somewhat predictable breakdowns and rebel-against-everything lyricism.  They can’t quite keep up with a thrash pace, attempted here and there, and though I’m sure all of these guests are super cool for those in the know, Michelle’s intensity married to her group’s punky throttle is what sells it, and the moment we step away from that, it feels a little distracting, not helped by rather flat production.

, Dies is still a top-quality punker – that’s the backbone of the disc, undeniably – and though the takedowns of capitalism and animal experimentation are the norm for the scene, Michelle finds valid and interesting ways to voice her complaints, making the lyrics worth deciphering, even if they won’t necessarily rattle you to a new point of view.  Furthermore, there are select moments – perhaps unsurprisingly the only tracks to exceed two minutes – where the group expands their sound instead of trying to force in hardcore tricks, giving us something closer to indie hard rock, indicating where they’d have room to grow for their next album.

Definitely promising.