Review / 200 Words Or Less
The Franklin Cover Up
Commercial

Seven Trumpets (2007) Michael

The Franklin Cover Up – Commercial cover artwork
The Franklin Cover Up – Commercial — Seven Trumpets, 2007

On first glance The Franklin Cover Up's name may appear silly. But upon further investigation - a child prostitution ring involving several former U.S. government officials - everything begins to make sense. The Idaho metalcore outfit

yes I said Idaho

delivers nine tracks in twenty minutes on their debut full-length, Commercial. These songs are a mixed bag: some great songs - "Great Tragedy River Ohio," "They Came and Melted Our Necks" and "A Nation Under Fuck" but also some subpar ones too. The band treads the line between the technical jamming of Botch and the sheer ferocity of Burnt by the Sun. If there was one thing I'd like to hear it would be more experimentation, perhaps some instrumentals or melody thrown in here and there to mix things up so as to not feel so bombarded.

6.5 / 10Michael • December 22, 2008

The Franklin Cover Up – Commercial cover artwork
The Franklin Cover Up – Commercial — Seven Trumpets, 2007

Recently-posted album reviews

Totally Slow

The Darkness Intercepts
Refresh Records (2024)

I find Totally Slow a hard band to categorize. Their brand of melodic, hard punk is familiar and comforting -- rooted in ‘80s hardcore, ‘90s skatepunk, and post-something guitar-driven rock. The press release namedrops Dag Nasty and Hot Snakes, among others, which I think are good starting points. But while it’s familiar, it’s absolutely not a carbon copy. Like their forebearers, the songs … Read more

Steamachine

City of Death
Records Workshop (2023)

City Of Death is the third album from Polish noise makers Steamachine. Having dabbled in a few metal styles over their career, City Of Death has a heavy carnival influence to it which I have to say I really like. It's interesting just how much more sinister things sound when you pump eerie, jingly circus sounds amongst very dark, heavy, … Read more

Faulty Cognitions

Somehow, We Are Here
Cercle Social Records (2024)

The opening track on Somehow, We Are Here is a statement. Yes, Faulty Cognitions is a punk band with members of Low Culture, Shang-A-Lang, Nocturnal Prose,and more. Yes, this shares a lot of commonalities, but it’s also a new band with a new sound. The band humbly says they were going for an early, jangly R.E.M. vibe but self-confess that it has more of a Replacements thing going on … Read more