On their Load debut, L.A.'s Silver Daggers bear a striking resemblance to fellow Californian post-hardcore outfit XBXRX. Both groups use screaming one-note singers, fat Mike Watt-ish bass lines, and raging punk beats dotted with jazzy syncopations. And both stick religiously to relentless overdrive, making their songs impressive individually but tiring in long doses.
XBXRX battled that fatigue pretty successfully on their last album, Wars, by expanding their songwriting chops. By contrast, Silver Daggers fight the sonic bends by widening their palette, adding the squirting saxophone of Jenna Thornhill and the jolting synth of William Menchaca. When that pair's fiery commentary takes over, Silver Daggers are at their most intriguing. On tracks like the pounding "The Five Food Groups" (a hilarious diet lesson) and the hyper-chaotic "Run to Fear", the group sounds like a skewed version of James Chance's Contortions, had that band been weaned on the SST and Dischord catalogues.
Even when sax and synth aren't out front, Silver Daggers craft exhilarating sonic sprints, made more urgent by blunt politics. "The future is ending now/ The war is getting cold" they scream during the stomping "Ghosted", while on "Real Neat Flag", scraping guitar and a head-cracking beat underscore protest-march slogans. "We do not need you congressman if you are going to let that act pass," they yell without irony. "We do not need your protection, and we do not need your flag." Such polemics may seem heavy-handed on paper, but like the Minutemen's crystal-clear rants, they're oddly effective when married to intelligent punk. Still, the music itself could use more subtlety, and all the repetition and speed are a challenge to endure in one sitting.
But there are signs that Silver Daggers' tonal range could widen. At the end of the title track, they break into a funky, keyboard-driven passage akin to a hardcore Talking Heads. Even more surprising is the conclusion of "Burn the World", a series of dramatic crescendos that could pass for a Glenn Branca guitar symphony. Rumor has it that the band is more unpredictable live, so the smart money says Silver Daggers' next step will be the leap forward you can hear them gearing up for on New High & Ord.
