Whenever there is a new Strung Out album, my first inclination is to look out for the "Strung Out song". While arbitrary, it's been a staple of the Strung Out discography and always a good sign that the record will be a great one. From Another Day in Paradise (1994), the band crafted songs that were the sum of the their best parts; urgency, melody, and emotion. These were songs that didn't care that they were melodic to the point of balladry, yet still had the razor-sharp mix of high-octane riffs, high-energy percussion (that beat!) and Jason Cruz's vocal anguish. What songs do I mean? It was "14 Days" in Another Day..., "Solitaire" in Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues, "Paperwalls" and "Matchbook" in Twisted By Design early on while their latter discography was punctuated by the superb "Andy Warhol" in Agents of the Underground and "No Apologies" in Transmission.Alpha.Delta. My long-winded point is that when Strung Out forgo their love of metal for their love of melody, the results are always great.
Case in point the solitary 2017 single "Crows", which would have been the best song on any of their albums but remain left off all. It's these kinds of songs that Strung Out are at their best and in Songs of Armor and Devotion, we get the terrific "Ulysses"; a song of manic energy, superb melodies and yes, that sense of melancholy that all its "Strung Out song" brethren have. Criteria met.
So is Songs of Armor of Devotion a great Strung Out album? In a word, yes, and it's been a steady ship since 2009's Blackhawks Over Los Angeles after a few years of fluctuating returns and flirtations with more metal and less punk. Their latest builds on the terrific work they showcased in Transmission.Alpha.Delta, ratching up the melody as showcased in the opening salvo of "Rebels and Saints". The nuanced harmonies play well with the blistering solos and make for the strongest opening track since Exile In Oblivion's "Analog". The album is buoyed by some strong percussion work again, and while this is the first album since the departure of long-time drummer Jordan Burns, newcomer RJ Shankle is no downgrade behind the skins.
There is still plenty of fire ("Monuments"), touches of metal ("Daggers"), and many instances of the band being great at who they are. But the strongest aspect of the album is the album's consistency and tone- it's good all throughout, with plenty that still stokes the energy and electricity they blazed on to the scene with. They're a little more composed now, and there's a level of introspection and maturity that keeps the more ruthless vitriol they showcased in Twisted By Design a little at bay. But for a band to be this well into their career to still be writing songs like great "Strange Notes" (hectic guitar solo work over razor-sharp punk "gimme gimme more" vocals and d-beat percussion work) is a testament to the band.
Longevity may not always be a musician's strongest trait, but for Strung Out, it isn't just about being the last one standing- it's their continued ability to write songs that connect, that the listener can relate to. They write songs of loss and heartbreak, anguish, and anger, songs that incinerate as well as they reflect on life, and all these years later, they're still doing it with fire and fury. For many, Twisted By Design is still the band's apex, but remarkably, Songs of Armor and Devotion has come the closest to emulating it, with moments on it inching close to surpassing it. In "Andy Warhol", Cruz sang "You can't write a song if you've never lost anything you've truly loved", and it always sounds like the band have loved and lost better than so many.