When you look at the pedigree of Cloak/Dagger, you really can't argue with it: American Nightmare, Striking Distance, Count Me Out, and Trial by Fire, among others. But what is refreshing is that Piñata really doesn't sound exactly like any of those bands. Cloak/Dagger deliver four songs of aggressive hardcore-punk, not hardcore, not punk, on this 7". "Daggers Daggers" sets things in motion with a flurry of speedy riffs and drumming and coarse screams in a sound similar to Black Flag. "Paranoid" follows in a more traditional verse-chorus-verse song-structure, providing opportunity for sing-alongs to the chorus. "Electrocution" chimes in first on the B-side and quickly has become one of my favorite songs of 2006. The lyrics are catchy and great to sing-along with; the music fuses the world of hardcore-punk with a dash of rock-n-roll, allowing it to stick out from the other songs. Cloak/Dagger wrap this 7" up with "Shady Grove," another hardcore-punk ditty moving at Mach 2.
