The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 02, 2005, Page 7, Image 7
CD REVIEW
Stretch Tree at Last’ with heartfelt hardcore, messages of hope
ini
“Free at Last”
Stretch Arm Strong ;
★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
Adam Carter
FOR THE GAMECOCK
Destroy, rebuild. Stretch Arm
Strongs new CD “Free At Last”
is — pardon the untimely
comparison — a hurricane of
noise, instrumentation and
screamed vocals. Anyone with at
least a halfhearted appreciation
of the screamo (often labeled
“hardcore”) genre might end up
searching for tour dates for this
band.
Stretch isn’t breaking new
ground musically, but there is a
genuine sense of effort played
out in the music that even a
novice listener (or repudiated
music hater) ought to notice.
Stretch’s music, however, is
almost beside the point when
compared to its ambition. The
band not only tries to get its
message and music heard, but
also tries to help people in
various life situations. Stretch
Arm Strong once recorded a
song for sex-crime survivors, and
included in the insert to the
album, “A Revolution
Transmission,” the number for a
rape-crisis hotline.
“Free At Last” includes much
more than pop-punks standard
fare of screaming, liberal political
pronouncements and “I hate the
world”s. Take for example
“Hearts On Fire.” Fire is a
common theme in hardcore and
especially screamo music, often
relating to themes of political
dissent, activism, rage at injustice
and a rather upsetting sense of
self-confidence. But Stretch
reaches beyond a simple knee
jerk reaction and produces a
sentimental song about the
tragedy of “all the life we’ve
killed” — which might be about
anything from war, to the death
penalty, to abortion-on-demand.
Of course, it could simply be a
derivative of the old-school
vegetarian declaration, “Meat is
murder.”
Below several songs they leave
an afterthought, a random
quote, to let listeners know
something about the message
they’re taking in. Beneath
“Hearts of Fire” is the quote, “It
is the people’s ultimate
responsibility to choose and to
act in accordance with that
which is helpful to all living
things! How much more so must
this be the case for our leaders?”
The straight-edge anthem,
“To the End,” and the final song,
which deals with the death of
someone close to the band,
certainly require no words of
wisdom to hit home. Though
many of today’s screamo punk
bands would, amid fears of
losing their core audience, avoid
talking about being straight-edge
or the loss of loved ones, Stretch
welcomes an added range of
songwriting material that comes
from embracing overlooked
genres. Nevertheless, the band
declares that although lead
vocalist Chris McLane is a vegan
and several of the bands
members are Christians, Stretch
Arm Strong is neither a straight
edge nor Christian band.
“This Tune,” a brilliant song
about the process of breaking up
a relationship, gives hope that
the situation will get better.
Other songs, such as “When All
Else Fails,” and “Every Last
Minute,” follow much the same
route — quite atypical of bands
with as many hardcore
influences as this one. The
"screaming is constant and nerve
grating, but one soon realizes
they’re not only screaming to
unleash their hatred on the
world. The band appears to want
to reach out to troubled teens
and adults and give them a sense
of confidence: “We can mend
this suffering/we can break free
from it.”
So what if their music doesn’t
cross boundaries between
genres? So what if they seem to
be riding the current wave of
“screamo” creativity? They are
’not playing solely for themselves.
This is one band that actually
cares about its fans. The music?
It should eventually catch on,
even with those unfamiliar with
hardcore-sounding music.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecoclfeatures@gipm.sc.edu
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Davis of jazz
6 List part
10 Put in the hold
14 Discompose
15 Misplace
16 Exhort
17 Dancing spot
18 Minstrel’s
instrument
19 Not a strike
20 Landed property
22 Acquire
23 Knotted
24 Inner self
26 Coats with gold
leaf
27 Stadium
entrance
30 Copper or nickel,
e.g.
32 Canape spread
33 Graceful dive
34 Loudness
38 As a substitute
40 Creator of
Inspector
Maigret
wianenesiei
measurements
42 Big cut of beef
43 Santa, often
44 Decathlon
participant
46 Male heirs
47 La Scala cheer
50 Part of CIA
52 Sneaker tie
53 Wrigley product
54 Sampled
58 Teen heartthrob
59 Length x width
61 Barrel strip
62 Swampy
ground
63 Advance, as
money
64 Little house on
the prairie
65 Small lake
66 Chorus voice
67 Correct
DOWN
1 Produced
2 Heron cousin
3 Endure
4 Kind of hatch
5 Injections
no/n9/fffi
© 2005Tribune Media Services, Inc. U9/uZ/Uu
All rights reserved.
6 Wise, neighbor
7 Make stronger
8 High regard
9 Fulfill
10 Foreign film
caption
11 Lag behind
12 Gave the eye to
13 Pipeline joints
21 Blarney
25 Clothed
26 Folklore being
27 Grisly
28 Five-star
29 Student
challenge
31 Plain to see
33 Look after
35 Menu choice?
36 React to an
ache
37 Brings to a
conclusion
39 Toured
40 Web location
42 Subdivision
45 Hardy’s partner
46 Part of DOS
Solutions
47 Goodyear
billboard?
48 Listening
medium
49 Oak, in a
nutshell
51 Social class
53 Opening night
party
55 Alternative to a
CD
56 Level
57 Heroic exploit
60 Hustle and bustle
Scene®USC
Unwed Sailor
Today
UNWED SAILOR, X’S & Y’S, ALASKA
THE TIGER: 5 p.m. New Brookland
Tavern, 122 State St. $7 in
advance. All ages.
“DODGEBALL”: 8 p.m. Russell
House Theater.
BLUSIC PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
PREACH: 9 p.m. Vista Studios, 808
Lady Street. No cover, over 18
only.
Saturday
PIRATE FEST! 2: 2 p.m. New
Brookland Tavern. $ 12 in
advance. Ail ages.
“DODGEBALL”: 8 p.m. Russell
House Theater.
“CROnICAS”: 3, 7, 9:10 p.m.
Nickelodeon Theater, 937 Main
St. $5 matinee, $5.50 evenings
with student ID.
'i
Sunday
“DODGEBALL": 8 p.m. Russell
House Theater.
RED, WHITE AND BLUE MUSIC AND
FOOD FESTIVAL: 5:45 p.m. Art Bar,
1211 Park St. $3, over 21 only.
Proceeds go to Pets Inc.
Quigmans ♦ By Buddy Hickerson
l_e.T'S see... iMPeRSONaTiNGa] (
HiPSTeR, GOiNG TOO R3ST ON a y
F'RStT D<3Te, OpeRaTiNG W1TH0UT
a cue. F4ii_upe to saTiGFy ex-/
PeCTaToNC, SAGGING BUMPeRS, / j
AND...OH! LOOKS UKe 9oUR /y*
DReaMs Have EXPi'peo! / _
_I
A College Girl Named Joe ♦ By Aaron Warner
HEY,
ARE YOU PLANNING
TO 70 ANY LAUNPRY
rv j-oon?
I PONT
KNOW.
I
\h
i
11
t?
At
\ ii
- . WHY 70
YOU ASK?
Paper Asylum ♦ By James Hickson
tYou JUST oomins back
from the Same?
-~
Dude, it’s
i Friday morning I
— .. 1 —4.- :j
Have you even been
going to class?
.
HOROSCOPES
ARIES You can accomplish more
through somebody else than you
can all by yourself. Get a Libra, a
Leo and a Sagittarius on your
side.
TAURUS It might be necessary to
put the group on a tight budget.
If so, give them something
exciting to save up for. It’ll be
more fun.
GEMINI The more you learn, the
more you’ll notice the boundaries
are fragile. They might only be in
your mind. It’s OK to test them.
CANCER Evaluate your work
routine as objectively as you can.
There are things you can change
to improve your efficiency and
increase your profits.
LEO Luck is important, of course.
It’s better to be lucky than smart.
It’s best, as you are now, to be
both.
VIRGO There’s money coming in,
so don’t worry about that. Use the
materials you already have to
make the cash last longer.
LIBRA Ask questions. Be direct.
Now’s the time for it. People will
tell you the truth — whether they
want to or not.
SCORPIO Accept what you’re
given. It’s only symbolic of riches
yet to come. Appreciate
everything you have, and offer
thanks.
SAGITTARIUS You keep asking
probing questions, and the word
gets around. You are a force with
which to be reckoned.
CAPRICORN Digging for treasure
doesn’t have to take you far from
home, but it could interfere with
a planned expedition.
AQUARIUS A winning suggestion
comes from a rather unexpected
source. This shows again how
important it is to let other folks
know what you want.
PISCES The minute you know
you really understand what you’re
doing, take note. Make it into a
habit, and then you can forget it
again.