Album Review :: Goddamnit :: How To Feel the Burn

Written by: Andrea Janov, CC2K Music Editor

Goddamnit :: How To Feel the Burn :: Creep Records

I grew up about an hour and a half northeast of Philly. Though we had a pretty solid local scene, especially for such a small town, it was easy to hop in the car and go to Philly for the night. Maybe it’s because it’s what I grew up with, but I have always loved the sound of Philly punk rock. It is raw, hard, gritty, and accessible. No matter the band, it sounded like music your friends made and that your soul needed. You were able to connect with it and abandon yourself to the pit. I don’t know why, but there just haven’t been a lot of pretentious Philly punk bands, they are (mostly) all pretty awesome and down to earth.

That said, I fucking love Goddamnit’s How To Feel the Burn. It is classic Philly punk. The album is gravely and a bit melodic, but only in small bursts. You can hear a hardcore influence, but hardcore meaning the Fugazi vein. The tracks are layered and full and cut right through you. The music has these cool moments of chaos that will rile the pit up and then just enough of a hook and opportunity to sing along to totally unify everyone. As How To Feel The Burn progresses, they start to introduce their slower softer side, illustrating Philly’s approach to emo – none of this whiny bullshit, just stripped down punk rock emotions.

Hear About It is a killer opening track, it is fast, aggressive, and exciting. It riles the listener up immediately. The second track, How to Take the Burn is one of the best songs that I have heard in a long time, it is super fast hard punk rock, but still maintains a bit of melody– just enough to make you sing along. New Perfume and Quiet Distractions have great sing along moments. Dead Sharks Teeth starts off with killer chanting and this brooding music. The vocals the begin to lean toward hardcore, yet never get too growling. Citywide is a natural progression from Dead Sharks Teeth, it is a bit more punk leaning, but still has the emo, heavy, brooding undertone and vibe. It’s Over Now, maybe my favorite track on the album, has such depth of sound, vocals that are honest and raw, a killer, I mean killer, sing a long section. It has a dash of longing and a dash of self awareness that culminates in the best break up song you will ever sing along to. The album ends with With Whiskey, a slow stripped down track that feels almost impromptu and intimate. The background talking and bottles clinking make you feel like you are sitting around watching your best friend’s band perform at a small bar or around a fire.

This album has a definite vibe to it, it will take over your surroundings for the 38 minutes that it commands your attention.