Album Review: Ultrabomb - "Time To Burn"


Something of a punk supergroup, Ultrabomb feature the talents of ex-Husker Du man Greg Norton and former UK Subs drummer Jamie Oliver in their ranks and after three promising singles, Time To Burn marks their debut album. As evidenced on the opening title track, this is very much a band playing to its strengths with the barrelling rhythms being reminiscent of a Dropkick Murphys who'd never heard of Irish folk music. Not bad.

However, just in case you were about to tap this one down as predictable, Fear Your Gods quickly enters into the fray with a slow-building slice of menace which quickly picks up from an almost Mission style verse to a full on thrash chorus before former single Star and the frenetic I Can Make It both hark back to Norton's Husker Du past.

And so it continues throughout - while the spirit of Mould and Hart does hang heavy over this album, Ultrabomb are also savvy enough to vary the formula up enough that you'd never mistake them for a bunch of idea-free copyists. Hence former single Stickman vs Hangman bristles with a nervous energy and Bang Punk is a melodic slice of angst while a cover of the Dead Boys' Sonic Reducer to close matters shows that their influences stretch beyond the more obvious ones.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this album but Ultrabomb have served up a good debut album here which sees them living up to the pedigree that you'd expect. Mixing angst and melody to good effect, Time To Burn is definitely worth seeking out.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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