Architects – Revenge

The history of the Architects starts with the Gadjits. The cute teen
band from the 90s that wore those Twotone suits and played Skacore. I had
booked them into the old Safari club a number of times but lost track of them
soon after they signed to Hellcat. So, when my friend Sophia brought up this
band from Kansas called the Architects as possible opening for the US Bombs
show in Omaha, I was a little taken a back when she mentioned that they used
to be in the Gadjits. She went on to say it was one of the best independent
CDs she had heard in a while. I made a mental note and moved on.

What I find interesting about this band is that even though they had
gained success with Ska, they came to a point where they decided that they
wanted to move in a different direction. This is a rare thing. After their
release on Hellcat, they began to shift their music in a decidedly more rock
direction. When it came time to release their second record 'Wish we Never
Met' Hellcat unsure of the change in the band refused to release it. Instead
the band released themselves. Then the golden brick lined road to stardom
appear in a contract with RCA. However, before the ink was put to paper a
change in RCA leadership put the deal to death but not before the band
recorded a Demo with GNR guitarist Gilby Clarke. Demo now sits in the RCA
graveyard and will more than likely never see the light of day. After a
couple of line up chances and a name change you come to the Architects.

The first thing that strikes you about this record is the energy.
There is a fine tuned, well oiled driving anger to this. It doesn't really fit
nicely into the sub catolog of Indy or Emo or Noise. As a mater of fact it
puts me more in the mind of Naked Raygun, Down By Law, Pegboy and Husker Du
but with some AC/DC thrown in for good measure. At the same time there is
something very midwestern about it and very KC with clear nods to Season to
Risk, Rocket Fuels the Key and hell even the Micronots. This is a Punk record
no doubt about it but it's a thinking man's punk. You are not going to find
mohawks and slogans here but something much less cookie cuter and more pure.
You get the feeling that this is something written from the heart with no
market in mind. The lyrics are very personal and the guitar and beat drive it
to the point of loss of control.

It's hard to pick out highlights. It keeps you on the edge of the seat
from 'Reciprocity' to 'The March Out'. A very solid record but I'm particle
to 'The Badge', 'Don't Call It Ghetto', 'Live Forever' 'Body Armor'
and 'Bury My Heart in Lebanon, MO'. Also on the track 'Time to Flip the
Record' you can hear the harp of Tenderloin's very own Ernie Locke.