Militarie Gun: God Save the Gun

I feel like a bit of a poser reviewing yet another Militarie Gun album. After all, this is music for young men. When faced with the opportunity to go see these dudes live, I demurred because I don’t love getting kicked in the face. Not that I’ve been kicked in the face much, but I’ve been punched a few times (in my earlier years) and totally didn’t love it. This is to say that their shows — and by extension their music — is meant to be attended and listened to by the youth. Youth who are not afraid to jump in the pit and get a boot to the head. Not me. But, hey, catchy music is catchy music, and as long as I’m listening to it in the safety and comfort of my home, headphones or car, I’m totally down. And damn if their latest, God Save the Gun, isn’t catchy as hell.

Now, going back to my poser status. Is poser/poseur even a thing anymore? The same way selling out isn’t? Is it a Gen-X concept that the millennials did away with with their “get that money” attitude? Can I, as a person squarely in the Gen-X cohort, even run this album through my speakers without embarrassing myself? Or does nobody even operate on that level anymore? And are my antiquated thoughts on the subject germane in a world where even Militarie Gun is shamelessly open to experimenting way outside their post-hardcore pedigree with some pretty standard indie rock and even some stuff bordering on Wavves-like power pop? And, I shit you not, something that sounds like a Killers interpolation. Point being, nothing is just one thing. And as Militarie Gun continue to mature in their sound, subject matter and ability, they move closer to meeting me where I am.

Track six on this album, “Daydream,” I think may have appeared on disc five of The Smashing Pumpkins‘ The Aeroplane Flies High box set. A lovely little ditty with acoustic guitar and strings about personal struggles that is dreamy and is called… well it’s called “Daydream,” which couldn’t be a more Pumpkins song title if you tried. Oh, wait! It IS the title of a Pumpkins song off Gish that also has acoustic guitars and strings. Uhh… what are we doing here? I can’t be the only one who’s seeing this, right? Conspiracy theory unlocked. Thing is, as I mentioned, this is not the only song on the album that sounds like another song, or an almost homage of some sort. It could be subconscious, or coincidence, but there are a bunch of tracks here that have other songs on the tip of my tongue when listening to them. Which indicates there is melody and hooks galore and not just an all-out hardcore pummeling. The somewhat drowned-in-fuzz production on some tracks is something I’ve settled into, but still isn’t my favorite. We know you love My Bloody Valentine, we get it. I just don’t happen to. But the production does indeed sound really good in a decent pair of headphones.

Thing is, I’ve really enjoyed this album. From front to back. And then back to front. And I think in some way it’s the familiar sounds that have snagged me. The toning down of the aggression and the lean into a more emo, melodic aesthetic. Not that they didn’t have these moments on their last two records, Life Under the Gun and their debut EP combo album, All Roads Lead To The Gun, but it all comes together on this album. The emotional songwriting, the hooks, the energy. The listenability, for lack of a better term. I could put this on repeat and just let it run. The one thing I would have loved to hear is a blown-out version of the 56-second, snippet track, “Isaac’s Song,” which features a clearly co-written tune with Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse. The amalgam of the two sounds would have made for a pretty incredible song. Though the way it bleeds into the next song — and one of my favorites on the record — “Thought You Were Waving” kind of made me swoon a bit. Worlds colliding and all. I could truly listen to that tune over and over again without getting sick of it. I’ve even learned the guitar part, so if they want to tag me in (just for that song) I’m available. As long as they don’t throw me in that pit of crazy kids.