Full disclosure: I never really got into The Larry Arms until recently. I saw them a couple times live, but I was just never really drawn into their world. That is until I sat down and listened to their Fat debut, Apathy And Exhaustion, and something really clicked. The Lawrence Arms hail from Chicago and play really great Jawbreaker influenced punk. This band formed out of the ashes of The Broadways in 1998 and have been going strong ever since. The two distinct singer/songwriters in this band really set them apart. The times that I have seen them they always have funny between song banter, which makes me think they'd probably be a blast to hang with (plus they drink copious amounts of alcohol both on and off stage). It should also be noted that these dudes just get better with each release.
Just thought I'd share my experience with The Lawrence Arms too...
ReplyDeleteI got the first album when Mike Park put it out because I was a huge Broadways (and to lesser extent, Slapstick) fan. I really didn't like any of the songs except "Detention."
I thought Ghost Stories was really the band's finest moment.
I lost interest in pop punk shortly thereafter and picked up Apathy and Exhaustion in the used bin because I came across it cheap. But I was amazed at how great it is. "Boatless Booze Cruise" is SUCH a great pop song. I think the band could have been a great power pop band.
I really haven't liked anything after, though I've only listened to later albums in a friend's car and heard them in little snippets. Are any of the later records worth getting?
Their recent albums all have moments of greatness. I find that I've got to be in the right mood for pop-punk. However, Oh Calcutta is their most Broadways-eque release. Its pretty aggressive/gruff and both Chris and Brendan sing and trade off in songs instead of strictly singing lead on their own tunes. It's really good.
ReplyDelete