Review / 200 Words Or Less
The Black Black
Careful on Your Way Out

Ewel Records (2021) — T

The Black Black – Careful on Your Way Out cover artwork
The Black Black – Careful on Your Way Out — Ewel Records, 2021

If one were to define post-punk as the departure from the musical rawness and simplicity of punk rock and the adoption of dancey rock elements, Brooklyn-based The Black Black would fit the bill quite well.

Their third long-player spans eight tracks, which sonically traverse bass-centric territory between 1980s sentiments left in the wake of Joy Division and the groovy end of what the advent of the independent rock at the dawn of the new millennium had to offer – think a dirtier version of The Faint.

Gloomy and atmospheric in their approach, The Black Black have certainly found their lane and deliver competently their brand of energetic, fuzzy dance punk.

While the records sounds like from one cast in terms of coherence and production, over the distance of a full-length the album would have benefitted from a tad variety as far as songwriting is concerned as it would have added an interesting arc of tension. On the upside, if you dig The Black Black’s catchy, slick and danceable driven melodies, which are topped by cheery hooks, the album will deliver and excite in terms of consistency.

6.0 / 10 — T • August 3, 2021

The Black Black – Careful on Your Way Out cover artwork
The Black Black – Careful on Your Way Out — Ewel Records, 2021

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