Album Reviews

Listening to The Drowns’ fourth album, I had to check a couple of times if I was actually spinning the right record. Is this the same band that released Blacked Out in 2024? Gone are the heavy bovver rock influences. In their place, we are treated to thirteen killer streetpunk anthems that are as fiercely political as they are insanely poppy.

Recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, CO by punk rock legend Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag) and mixed by Jason Livermore (Teenage Bottlerocket), there is plenty to love across these 13 tracks. The production is lean, muscular, and perfectly suited to the band's sharpened songwriting.

Vocalist/guitarist Rev kicks things off on the urgent album opener “Always A Bastard,” sounding like he still gargles with gravel and concrete. Bassist Andy Wylie counters on the mellower “Have A Heart,” making a strong, melodic case for human compassion. The back-and-forth trade-off between the two carries the entire record. The contrast of Rev’s gruff, weathered rasps and Andy’s clean, soaring hooks adds a dynamic, Lawrence Arms-level of vocal chemistry that keeps the energy going from start to finish.

Lead single “Relentless” finds Rev tackling the crushing weight of modern capitalism on the working class, while he shows he does sarcasm well on “Let’s Start A Cult.” Elsewhere, Flogging Molly’s Matt Hensley adds a dash of accordion to “3rd & Pike” and Rise Against’s Zach Blair pitches in on “Vengeance,” while Andy shines on standout cuts like “Strangled Voices” and “Death Of The Optimist.”

We find ourselves living in remarkably turbulent times. You can either let the frustration eat away at you, or you can turn that righteous anger into thirteen razor-sharp anthems that still manages to spot a glimmer of light. That is exactly what The Drowns have done here, and as it turns out, it’s easily their best album to date.

Harsh Reality track listing:

1. Always a Bastard
2. Have a Heart
3. Relentless
4. Hellish Tattoo
5. Let's Start a Cult
6. Strangled Voices
7. 3rd & Pike
8. Burn the Page
9. Vengeance
10. Death of the Optimist
11. Tried To Love You
12. Tender Hooks
13. No Better