There are some things you just can’t take away from bands who play good riffs, even if the riffs have been played before. Underlining the concept that a song like “Glamour Her” bounces along like a hardcore punk song from ’85 with a little more grit ignores the truth; songs like that are still fucking good. No keyboards, no drum loops, no bullshit comes out of Chambers, a Union, NJ, quintet who share an appellation with at least one British band and some geeks from SoCal. But these are the guys you should be googling.
Those who were following the band from early on will notice the material on Old Love that’s taken from their demos at Earthquake Studios (conveniently located off Route 22) is re-recorded a bit slower (see the opener, “Pig” and its introduction) and is slightly more polished, but thankfully retains much of the same energy of true hardcore punk revivalism. So, it’s true, some of these songs have been out there, but a little over half of Chambers’ proper debut is new material.
Still, Old Love walks a razor’s edge. Its appeal to the kind of people who are already familiar with old school hardcore punk is palpable, as Chambers doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel, but to celebrate it. In doing so, however, there’s a sense of expendability to the band. Here’s hoping they tour grade school gymnasiums, by locking all the kids up and forcing them to listen. Then, after the band gets out of prison in 10 years, they’ll be superstars.
In A Word: Sandpaper
