Review
Detournement
Screaming Response

Chunksaah/Pirate Press (2009) Loren

Detournement – Screaming Response cover artwork
Detournement – Screaming Response — Chunksaah/Pirate Press, 2009

Detournement are an Eastcoast band with members from a host of familiar bands. Rather than focus on who they are, though, their music should speak for itself.

The fifty-one second opener, "Focus

Explosion!," makes a quick impression, with melodic hardcore that's over before you've found your seat. The lyrics aren't exactly discernible, but I know both titular words were screamed with emphasis on the exclamation point. The rest of the record reminds me of Rancid V, with powerful guitars and angry group shouts. "Odessa" has a Matt Freeman-esque bass line, even if it sounds a bit tinny. The change of pace song, "No Estan Solo," is slower with some soft spoken vocals that almost feel soothing compared with the rest of the record. The song takes a subtler approach, but it still fits in with the overall style due to its group vocals and upbeat tempo. It's well placed in the middle of the record, which keeps the energy flowing, but allows some contemplation between burners. Just afterward is "A Dead Man Cries for Vengeance," which shows a more straightforward hardcore influence, before returning to hyperfast group-sing with the union song "Stranglehold U.S.A."

Detournement is definitely recommended for fans of Rancid, Street Dogs, and other solidarity-leaning street punk bands. They speed things up a little more than those bands and have a distinct East coast feel. The lyrics are political, more anthem than dissertation. It's not original, but it's well executed and catchy. I'm curious where the band will be in a couple albums if they stick around and separate themselves more from their influences.

7.0 / 10Loren • September 7, 2009

Detournement – Screaming Response cover artwork
Detournement – Screaming Response — Chunksaah/Pirate Press, 2009

Related news

Detournement Announce Debut EP

Posted in Records on April 3, 2009

Recently-posted album reviews

Tony Molina

On This Day
Slumberland Records (2025)

I went to a birthday party for my wife and six or seven other friends and acquaintances last night. I guess people liked having sex in January in the late 70s-early 80s? In Canada at least, that’s how we keep warm in the winter! Anyway, I was foraging at the smorgasbord with a couple former co-workers talking about my recent … Read more

Often Wrong

The Figs Are Starting to Rot
Far From Home Records (2025)

Often Wrong is an emo/grunge/screamo hybrid born out of the DIY scene. It was built through the kind of friendships that start in basements, not boardrooms. The band formed in 2024 and quickly started carving out their own lane. They are blending fragile, journal-entry emo with blown-out guitars and throat-shredding catharsis. They’re signed to Far From Home Records, a label … Read more

Armor for Sleep

There Is No Memory
Equal Vision (2025)

Armor For Sleep return with an album that treats memory like a weapon. It’s delicate, devastating, and impossible to disarm. For those who may not be as old as me and missed their emergence into the emo/indie scene, the Teaneck, New Jersey band started in 2001. Led by frontman Ben Jorgensen, they dropped gems like Dream to Make Believe (2003) … Read more