Album Review :: Hightower :: Sure.Fine.Whatever.

Written by: Andrea Janov, CC2K Music Editor

Hightower :: Sure.Fine.Whatever. :: Knives Out Records

From the first notes, I loved this Sure.Fine.Whatever. Hightower is exactly the brand of punk that will always get me. It is aggressive, catchy, and full of energy. I have spent the last month trying to pick this record apart, tell you what is awesome, what makes it so great. But I can’t. It kicks off with Aqua Tiger which totally kicks your ass, and it only goes up from there. 1076 is deeper track and a bit slower, but 100% punk rock. This Is Really Neat balances screaming and melody perfectly and Under a Funeral Moon has a breakdown that is so catchy you will be singing along the first time you hear this song. Motion Sickness is all thrash, all aggression. Mathematical Crank, may be my favorite instrumental ever, as in on the first listen, I didn’t realize over a minute and a half went without lyrics. And See You At the Party, Malcolm, wraps up the album perfectly, a straight punk rock track, that slowly mellows out until it brings the album to a close.

I think that I would have identified deeply with this album in my late teens through 20s. The themes of making mistakes, trying to find yourself, realizing that how things have always been is not necessarily the best, but not always knowing quite out to get out of the situation – are ones that I, along with a lot of people I knew, were going through in those years. And albums that not only had killer music, but also were singing about the same types of issues that were going on in your life, were always the records on repeat, and the shows where you left the pit exhausted, covered in sweat, feeling as if you just had a therapy session.

Sure.Fine.Whatever. is the type of album that is perfect for blasting out car windows, or for sitting around the fire drinking a beer, or screaming along in the pit. I am not familiar with French punk, but if this is a sample of what is going on over there, I am really missing out.