REMY: Album Review: Audible Joes - Medicine for Modern Living

Audible Joes, 'Bombs Away'

Info: Where better for a spot of belting punk-rock to come from than The Rebel County? Audible Joes formed in Cork almost exactly 5 years ago and have just released their debut album, Medicine for Modern Living and will also be playing in Whelans on Wexford Street on the 2nd of May to show off their new wares.

From the outset of the first track 'How To Build An Urban Soldier' you're left in no doubt as to where you'll be setting off for, the song has a distinctly 70's hard rock guitar intro and then crashes into punk rock, I very much got the bands Greenday influence on this one, but while it made the odd appearance here and there on the rest of the album it wasn't a mainstay. The next song, 'State of Frustration and Sin' had an unusual mix of ZZ Top type honky rock and late-90's punk, and this is the first hint of the working blends that feature across the rest of the albums tracks. Above single 'Bombs Away' is unadulterated modern punk and reminded me quite a bit of a more high-tempo version of London group Seafood particularly when it came to harmonies, easy to see why the band selected it as a single.

Artwork: Sarah Mackey

I loved the intro and the entire length of 'Deadman Walking' in fact, again it's frantic but melodic and has some killer Thin Lizzy type solos in the final third. The short but very enjoyable 'Hangman', has an epic drum effect intro and revels in it's irreverence, I was saddened when it screeched to a halt in just under 90 seconds! Perhaps my favourite track on Medicine for Modern Living came at the very end of the album, I thought 'Degeneration' (below) was slick with searing guitars and felt a bit like a San Fran acid-tinged old-school punk song. Modern day punk rock is one of those curiously divisive genres in music these days, older generations sneer that 'it ain't nufink like the Sex Pistols mate' while a younger generation who grew up with Dookie and Insomniac have little references other than Green Day and I suppose The Offspring and Blink 182, so are inevitably comparing everything to those points. As someone who loves good hard rock and punk to a lesser extent, I enjoyed this album, there aren't that many bands making a lot of noise just at the minute so Audible Joes certainly break things up nicely, stick it on next time your driving your nan to bingo.