Militarie Gun – ‘Life Under The Gun’ album review: an emphatic debut
Put simply, Life Under The Gun, the hotly-anticipated debut album by Cflecalifornian punks Militarie Gun, is excellent. Released through Loma Vista, the record is a collection of 12 alternative rock-leaning cuts that clock in at just under 30 minutes, yet despite its short length, there’s plenty on offer to tempt you back in for another whizz around the block.
Whilst the material is markedly different from the powerviolence of frontman Ian Shelton’s other band Regional Justice Center, there’s still an abundance of energy on display. Augmented by his raw but infectious vocal melodies, the harmonious crunch of Nick Cogan and William Acuña’s guitars, and a rhythm section that toes the line between simple and dynamic, the balance provides a perfect ballast for the other technical elements throughout.
Co-produced by Shelton and Taylor Young at Foo Fighters’ Studio 606, Life Under The Gun is comprised of familiar fan favourites such as ‘Do It Faster’ and a re-recorded ‘Big Disappointment’, positioned alongside a collection of scintillating new tracks that will be unknown to fans who haven’t caught Militarie Gun live yet.
Whilst ‘Big Disappointment’ has been a staple of the band’s since it was released on the All Roads Lead to the Gun collection in 2022, the redux – with reverb and delay carrying Shelton’s vocals – indicates not only their dedication to how music should sound but a willingness to keep moving forward too. Taking the decision to record an album version harking back to years gone by can only stand them in good stead for the future.
The album kicks off in the best possible way. The stirring strum of Cogan’s Jazzmaster and the ensuing one-two of Vince Nguyen’s snare quickly pull us in for ‘Do It Faster’. The track is one of the most infectious earworms on the album, and since it was first released in February, I’ve been hooked, as I’m certain newcomers will be too. “That’s going to be a smash hit,” Taylor Young’s brother, Colin, said in July last year – and he’s not wrong. The chorus is exceptionally contagious: “Waste my time, waste my life / As I sit and wait for you / I don’t see why it’s up to me / Why I got to be your stooge,” Shelton sings.
Next up is the single ‘Very High‘, another moment that sears itself into the prefrontal cortex. A track reminiscent of 1990s alternative rock, and dare I say it, even pop-punk (the good sort), it is fuelled by rousing guitar work, with the frontman relaying feelings of sadness and getting high as a means of escaping the tribulations of day-to-day life. From the vocals to the driving bassline, ‘Very High’ will go down as vintage Militarie Gun.
‘Will Logic’, the band’s most recent single, then enters the fold. A real grower of a track, it opens with the atmospheric strum of the guitar, as Shelton instils a darker edge, thanks to the violent theme of his lyrics and appropriately solemn vocal tone. “I can see you / I can see the knife in hand / Don’t feel like bleeding / So I guess this isn’t it,” the frontman sings before increasing the gravel of his voice on the last line, signalling the band to burst through the mix.
A genuinely multifaceted cut that points to early Militarie Gun as well as what the future might hold, with clear flecks of indie littered throughout and perhaps best exemplified by the emotive off-beats of the bassline, it is moments like these that confirm the Californian band as musicians committed to their own profound approach. We see this notion return to the fore on other tracks, including the reflective ‘My Friends Are Having a Hard Time’, featuring adroit backing vocals, and ‘Sway Too’, which comes with the high-pitched drone of synthetic strings, adding another layer to thicken things out.
Three songs stand out from the obvious choices, and they just so happen to be new ones. The first is ‘Seizure of Assets’. The crunch of Cogan and Acuña’s guitars is blistering, a word that best represents the song in general. I can’t be sure exactly what Shelton pipes during the chorus, but it’s something about “bloody bastard leeches” – which paints a picture all of its own. The song is a passionate, furious, attention-grabbing, aural haymaker.
Following it is ‘Never Fucked Up Once’, which might be the most euphoric sound on Life Under the Gun. A fine example of modern alternative rock, the track offers yet another chorus of indomitable proportions and vibrant guitars that make you want to revisit it immediately. Elsewhere, the melancholy of ‘See You Around’ is of note as Shelton brings the tempo down for a song coloured by autumnal pipes and the minimalist chime of the guitar.
On Life Under The Gun, Militarie Gun has not only produced one of the albums of the year but has categorically shown that they have a great deal to offer moving forward. Whether you call it hardcore, alternative or even indie, the tag doesn’t matter, this is one of the best albums I’ve heard in a long time.
Life Under The Gun is a sonic escape. It is modern guitar music at its finest. A total triumph.
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