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Garrison - Be A Criminal cover
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by Mat Hocking
  • Type: Album
  • Release date: 13/11/2001
  • Label: Revelation
And so Garrison return with an album that opens your eyes and welcomes in an exciting emo-rock sound which must truly signal a rise for a genre which has slowly been rising up from the hardcore underground since the early ninties. Garrison are four Bostonians who have, since 1998, been setting the HC scene alight with their explosive and intricate live shows, providing the scenesters with that perfect link between emo and rock.

Be A Criminal’ is an album which has seen their abstruse musicianship develop immeasurably, surpassing all their previous efforts, including their split with Hundred Reasons. With this, Garrison are sure to explode in the face of every alternative music fan this year with hard-hitting, eloquent grandeur. Delve inside and songs like 'Recognise an Opportunity’' gallop at you with a bounding eclectic mix of dual octave guitars which slice through vocalist Joseph Grillo’s rich and vibrant lyricism. ‘Choose The Weapon’ carries in a similar vein, it’s shouty, frantic speed underpinning Grillo’s urgent vocals in the lines, "Before we pass this sober point, make sure you’re listening / inoculated on your tongue so numb from asking", before it breaks into a marvellously sinister Mike Patton-esque bridge.

In ‘Dump The Body’, jangly guitars akin to the Burning Airlines are bursting out of a keen emo-rock mesh that encapsulates Drive Like Jehu’s finest moments, not stopping to take in some of early Radiohead’s jaw-dropping musicianship. And I guarantee that you will be singing the line, “I could point a finger but I’d rather point a gun” for weeks after. Slower number ‘Know The Locale’ displays superbly sweet harmonies that bob along under an abrasive 6/8 rhythm that shows that even in their less chaotic songs Garrison send excited shivers all over your body with soaring hooks and creamy melodies. Their forthcoming tour in early February only adds to your excitement.

The fact is, every track on this album will make you giddy with excitement. Songs such as ‘Don’t Feel Bad' and ‘Dump The Body’ display the kind of searing emotional hooks that most bands can only dream of. With ‘Be A Criminal’, Garrison have undoubtedly created an album that should thrust emo-core into the faces of all the sad, lonely acoustic Indie bands currently clogging the airwaves with their whiny lullabies. Ahem. Along with Hundred Reasons, Rival Schools and Forever Until October it looks like there’s finally a new, intelligent, emotionally-charged movement set to take hold of this decade. Oh, and finally hammer a nail into nu-metal’s coffin.

  • Garrison 10 / 10
Words: Mat Hocking

Is there any point...

...in slagging off other genres in every review?
I personally don't like metal, but I don't end every review of a post-rock band by saying "it will wipe all that rubbishy noise off the map!"

Re: Is there any point...

OK. There are a lot of writers on this site with loads of opinions and tastes on all aspects of music. Therefore, when a review is written, not everyone is going to agree with it. When I say that emo-rock SHOULD hopefully hammer the nail into nu-metal's coffin and introduce a whole new movement of intelligentally (fuck it, can't be bothered to spell-check) - written music together with an exciting new sound to a new generation, I mean it. And that's my opinion, my view, my taste in music and this site acts as a vehicle to express that.
If you don't like it, then, well... I really don't care. I mean, surely you should know that all reviews are subjective on this site anyway!

Re: Is there any point...

nah, i'm completely with you on that one :)
&in relation to the 1st post its ironic you mention mike patton - fnm are regularly cited by bands and hacks as having unfortunately borne some influence on this whole nu-metal farrago - but he'd be more than happy if every nu-metal band were hung, drawn, quartered, disembowelled and burnt till their skin fried. personally. especially the ones trying to do this FNM covers album, much to Patton's eternal chagrin. So the final comment there was more than fair enough. I meant to pick up that garrison/H*R split the other day when i spotted it, shall certainly do so now..

Re: Is there any point...

I recommend you check out the reviewed full-length as the split CD doesn't really do them justice. For a start 'Be A Criminal' has Jawbox/Burning Airlines producer J.Robbins on the turntables and on the split one of the songs is a God Machine cover anyway. Trust me. You won't be disappointed!

nice review

nice to see someone into their emo etc!
NME featured really pissed me off. oh well such is life.
i got Thursdays album 'Full Collapse'?
if not you should, i think its wicked"

Re: nice review

Yeah, I'll have to check out that copy of the NME. I've only bought it once when I was about 14 but it looks like there's some good bands featured!
I'm gonna get the Thursday alb when they support one of the many bands I'm seeing next week. I heard that Garrison, The Movielife & Thursday are playing the same bill in Leeds next Tues. If it's true I can't wait!

Re: nice review

yeah that'd be an immense gig!
i'm see the movielife, Thursday and Kids Near Water next saturday! woooooooo

Re: Is there any point...

Actually, probably because I am biased as Mr. "MOR British Guitar Band" man it was really the whiney acoustic lallabies bit I didn't like, but I think it's fair enough to write such things if you're really excited about a band, it just annoyed me a little to read almost the same in several reviews.. except looking back through the front page I can't find any more. Ho-hum. Maybe I should think things through more before posting such crap.

Garrison - Be A Criminal

because emo isn't whiney at all, oh no :)

Re: Garrison - Be A Criminal

you got a problem with garrison??

Garrison - Be A Criminal

I love this freakin album, but I haven't heard it yet but i saw the cover in my kerrang issue and it looks rocking. You guys, do you think I'd like it? My other interests of bands are p roach (freaks rule!) and elbow.

Garrison - Be A Criminal

yey! I heard it in hmv and it is the best thing I've ever heard. I'm going to ask for it for my 12th birthday which is tomorrow by the way. What else should I ask for?

Re: Garrison - Be A Criminal

who the bleedin' eck are you?

Re: Garrison - Be A Criminal

i think he's a joke. but that's just my humble opinion.