The United Sons of Toil probably won’t ever receive the distinguished honor of a 7.1 rating from Pitchfork, but anyone who has seen them live will tell you all you need to know. These guys are something to see. The ’Sons sound like a more aggressive Unwound, giving a sort of mathy post-punk vibe with some hints of chaos thanks to a seemingly heavy influence from the Touch and Go noise-rock movement. Guitarist Russell Hall wields distortion like Neil Young gone post-hardcore, his grating riffs appropriately complemented by the thunderous work of bassist Bill Borowski. The wild distortion exercises of the two are contained by the timely but urgent drumming of Chad Burnett, making for a collective that’s both explosive and punctual. Despite going largely unnoticed, the band’s first release, Hope is Not a Strategy, was one of the absolute best albums of 2007. Less than a year from its release, the Sons released their second album, Until Lions Have Their Historians, Tales of the Hunt Shall Always Glorify the Hunter. As you might have guessed at this point, the Sons’ lyrical content deals with political themes, usually expressing socialist and anti-imperialist attitudes. According to Hall:
The lyrical theme for [Lions] is the exploitation of indigenous peoples. In particular, half the songs are about native Americans; one song is about the British occupation of Ireland and one song is about Belgian King Leopold's rape of the Congo. For good measure, we threw in a song about the communist manifesto and one about separatist/survivalist/militia types. Like our last record we're still dealing with injustice and hypocrisy with a decidedly leftist slant.
And man, the song explanations in the liner notes are something else. “Promises undertaken while planning treachery have long been the hallmark of those in power”? “Nation building has long been a matter of rearranging populations so that the less desirable and less powerful groups are assigned the most marginal areas while the elite pick and choose their own homelands”? Newsflash for the Sons of Toil: I AM AN AMERICAN. The last book I read (do audiobooks count as reading?) was about how to get rock hard abs before Thanksgiving. Before that, it was something by Newt Gingrich talking about how when the Judeo-Christian god isn’t in government we’re all gonna die. YOUR BRAINY LIBERAL RHETORIC GOES OVER MY HEAD AND INFURIATES ME. I NEED SLOGANS AND SIMPLE NARRATIVES. But enough of that. Sonically, I think Lions is at its best when the band wanders into post-rock/metal territory, and “A Spectre Is Haunting Europe” is a perfect example of this. Hall unleashes seas of feedback and distortion while Borowski’s heavy bass helps forge a sound that is both deep and soaring. Burnett’s crashing drums are hard-hitting and soothing at the same time. This track is mammoth. Scene Point Blank’s Scott disagrees with me on this point, but one thing holding back this album, I think, is the tendency for tracks of the more post-hardcore variety to show repetitive vocal patterns. The chorus in “The Treaty of New Echota,” the chorus in “Signing Contracts, Building Stockades,” and the verse in “White King, Red Rubber, Black Death” all seem to time similarly. These tracks certainly aren’t weak, but they do, in my opinion, fail to reach the bar set by Hope is Not a Strategy. Luckily, the rest of the tracks are killer. The Sons have come to somewhat of a crossroads recently. Drummer Chad Burnett’s obligations outside the band will not allow him to remain a member, bringing the possibility of a break-up into question. However, it seems that fan demand has encouraged Russell and Bill to keep it going, as a recent Myspace update indicates that they have semi-officially found Chad’s replacement. I’ve got my fingers crossed. The grade I’m giving this album is truly not indicative of how good this band is. I’ve seen some really good bands, but the show these guys put on crushes all but one or two of them. These guys rule, and I really hope they are able to keep the band together. In true indie spirit, The United Sons of Toil have put their entire discography up on Last.fm for everyone to hear online here.
