Well, here’s a conundrum – should we be welcoming with open arms the intrusion of more noise into a world that seems cursed with unnecessary or disturbing sounds – that click click, that electric thrum thrum, that scream in the night? And yet this new release from Canada’s The Give ‘Em Hell Boys is, indeed, more noise than you’d want in the world. And there’s the solution – this is not noise, this is the product of cowpunks rekindling the spirit of the alt-country insurgency. There, we said it.
More than that ‘More Noise (In An Already Noisy World)’ is less about inflicting aural pain on those around you but making a defiant stand for individuality: “If I’m not who you want me to be – that’s your problem it ain’t on me” sings Quinn Clark with the muscular musical approval of Charles Biddiscombe on lead guitar, Lindsay Bueckert on bass and Evan Brown on drums. And it’s a reflection on the band’s attitude as much as anything, with Clark explaining that “When the band started, it was never meant to be a full-time gig – Charlie and I had been in a garage-punk band called The B-Movies, and we would often have jam sessions with our punk and metal friends in our old living room. Our curiosity with country music would inevitably come out after a few drinks, and soon other musician friends would show up with banjos and fiddles. Everyone knew a few Johnny Cash songs, and that led to exploring the deep classics of Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff and Hank Williams, while the speed of Bill Monroe really appealed to our punk and metal instincts. Sometime around then, Hank 3 released Straight To Hell, and that sealed the deal. Country could be Punk As Fuck.”
‘More Noise (In An Already Noisy World)’ is taken from the second album by The Give ‘Em Hell Boys; in fact, it is the title track, and the album was released late November.
