Warrior Poets is a new album by Tucson based Blue Collar Criminals. Being very much impressed by their previous output and the way they combined punk rock vibe with hardcore elements, I’ve been looking forward to this album since before I even knew it was coming out!
The songs are still on the catchy side and what you get is booze infused melodic punk rock with hints of hardcore that maintains a perfect balance between raw force and melodic catchiness. Compared to their previous album, everything got better. The songs are tighter, more complex and some of the hooks will follow you around for hours. The music is varied and detailed, from fast circle pit parts to mid tempo passages there’s hell of a lot of good ideas going on here. The gruff vocal delivery from the singer Mike works well alongside laying out a tales of drunken nights, street fights, having fun but also touching on some personal issues. The production is much more cleaner, but it’s not overproduced and not stripping it of the edge. The album is laden with stand out songs, but if I had to pick the ultimate winners, that gotta be Tucson City Streets, where they demonstrate some pride in their home town and The Pressure, dealing with personal struggles. They still got a knack for covers, this time doing Warriors by you know who and classic Mommy’s Little Helper by Rolling Stones. These are so good that make me wish they would release a cover album in the future putting their own spin on some classic rock tracks.Warrior Poets is one of the most energizing albums I’ve heard in a while and there’s a big chance that this one will end up as one of my favorites for 2010.
Review by Dloogi
Label: H8-Piece Records
Year: 2010
Band's website
