:: Static Thought - In The Trenches

Static Thought

Long renown for bringing street punk to the masses, Hellcat Records has found and signed up another raw old school punk rock act in San Francisco Bay Area act Static Thought. Founded while still in high school, Static Thought certainly wasn't about to wait for a deal to land at their feet, with two independently released EP’s under their belts (2004’s ‘Outta Control’ and 2005’s ‘Corruption’) before catching the attention of Rancid’s Tim Armstrong (the founder of Hellcat Records). Eight months after appearing on Hellcat Records’ annual compilation album ‘Give ‘Em The Boot V’, the four piece act finally arrives with its debut full length outing ‘In The Trenches’.

Things are off to a raucous start with the energetic ‘Drug Of My Mind’ showcasing a raw sound that’s almost expected of all Hellcat Records’ releases these days, while Urbach’s ravaged vocals adding an authentic down and dirty punk vibe to the song. There’s an unmistakable Rancid influence heard in the rocking ‘Dead And Gone’, which really isn’t unexpected when taking into consideration the kind of acts found on the label, while the fast and furious efforts like ‘Corruption’, ‘Ignorance Of The Youth’, ‘Infiltrated Minds’, ‘Social Unrest’ and ‘Trenches’ hark back to the mid ‘80’s UK punk rock sound with an abundance of chaotic energy evident throughout, and duly stand out as the best from the band.

Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen helps out on vocals on the anthem like ‘Choice Through Struggle’, while the group's reworking of The Police’s ‘Next To You’ is solid, if very close and a little rawer sounding than the original. The remainder of the album is just as good, leaving Static Thought with an overall respectable (if nothing new) sounding debut.