Album Review: Ultrabomb - The Bridges That We Burn
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Two years on from the release of the debut album, Dying to Smile, and Minnesotan punk trio, UltraBomb return for a second full-length. Only former Hüsker Dü bassist, Greg Norton, remains from the personnel responsible for Dying to Smile, and he has recruited Soul Asylum guitarist, Ryan Smith, to cover the six-strings and the vocals, as well as drummer Derek O’Brien, whose CV includes such scene royalty as D.I., Social Distortion, Agent Orange and Adolescents, for the sophomore The Bridges that We Burn.
At a little over half-an-hour in length, we’re treated to the whole UltraBomb range, from the sunny and upbeat, through to the dark and dissonant, with all manner of variety on the way. Opening with the impossibly summery-feel of Darwin Awards, The Bridges that We Burn seems an odd title for such a positive vibe. So-Cal in sound, through punchy guitars and a meaty chorus, as Ryan’s snappy vocal gives the air of a feel-good pop anthem. Couple that with the lead single, Artificial Stars and you might get the sense UltraBomb is headed into Green Day/ The Offspring territory.
Separating those tunes on the album is the two-minute darkness of Divert/Deflect, slower in pace and with a discordance about the guitar, we’re left in no doubt that we’ve suddenly stumbled upon a record your granny might enjoy. Zombie Zeroes is as down and dirty as the record gets, combining Horror Punk simplicity with a nostalgic nod to the Rock & Roll of the Fifties, in what is guaranteed to be a future live favourite.
Those sunny dispositions are back for No Cap and Sicko Rats, but they seem tinged by the darker tracks; No Cap comes in with distorted guitars, and its pop-leaning melodies are now mixed with an in-your-face chorus and a harshness that makes it one of the stand-out moments on this record. Sicko Rats bounces in its brightness, sharp and precise, the riff cannot be restrained and charges onto hard-hitting ground.
Back-to-back tracks BSS and Last Time utilise UltraBomb’s fondness for forcing opposing sounds together. Both songs have fast, flailing - almost thrashing in the case of BSS – choruses, punctuated by very different sounding verses. Last Time’s are bouncy and upbeat, whereas BSS’s slither and crawl.
Checked Out takes those upbeat and sunny moments and sees what happens when UltraBomb drag them into a shadowy alleyway. Crunching guitars rage and the pop-punk aesthetics seem lost to a more aggressive stance. Ryan gets to show his ripping soloing technique on Look Forward in Anger, as Greg’s bass sketches out the pulsating rhythms, and the record comes to a relentless climax with the fast and furious charge of Mosquito Crucifixion, bringing The Bridges that We Burn to a memorable conclusion.
Illness prevented UltraBomb from widely touring on the back of Dying to Smile but, thankfully, those issues appear to have been resolved, leaving the door open for the band to hit some European stages this summer. In The Bridges that We Burn they have a corking good album to plug.
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