Smartbomb return with their debut full-length, Diamond Heist, following the quite promising debut EP Chaos and Lawlessness. The band's first long-player is packed with more of what we heard on the EP, fast-paced punk with a melodic twist.
Diamond Heist kicks off with "Barely Legal." First and foremost, you are met with a fury of searing guitars of Billy Bean and fiery drums and jumpy rhythms. The music is matched with the rough shout of Eric Widing. It's a great combination that recalls the Descendents' Everything Sucks. Smartbomb smash through "Who's the Terrorist Now?" in much the same way, I especially love the catchiness of the chorus, it's a total early Fat Wreck/Epitaph sound.
"Lesson Learned" is a sub-minute blast of more aggressive sounds, borrowing a bit from a more hardcore-oriented background with an even faster pace than the norm for the band. The band ventures in a different direction with "PCH (Intermission)," which is a three-minute surf-guitar rock instrumental. It's a nice switch-up from what we've heard thus far, but feels a bit out of place on the recording. Also a tad out of place is the cover "In My Dreams;" I'm all for covers but this one just doesn't hit me right. Thankfully the album picks back up for the final three cuts - "Blood and Sand" particularly slays.
Lyrically, Widing tackles quite a few different topics. You've got songs about the band's hometown - "Worcester, MA" - songs about life on the road - "Second View" - and doing what you love - "Undercurrents."
Smartbomb sticks to what they're good at on Diamond Heist, delivering a high-octane assault of hardcore punk with a slight skate punk vibe, and of course some melodic moments as well. Diamond Heist is another solid effort from Smartbomb, but it starts to get a tab repetitive with frequent listens.
