Police & Thieves — Fracturing

Alright, it's that time when we ring in our silly Western notion of the new year (10 days after the solstice? Cause we're astronomically incompetent?) and I'm not really one for long lists. But I can give you a Top One list, so with no further adieu: the year's best album for me is by DC's hardest rockers, Police & Thieves. They've refined the style they had been building in their earlier efforts into something faster, but also more thought-out, more musically varied, even more intelligent. It sort of reminds me of the changes that created In My Eyes' Nothing To Hide LP, although P&T still draw heavily on influences like Dag Nasty. Carlos even get's a little melodic on the vocals a couple times, and I really dig it. Lyrics follow the same trends as before, mixing the personal and political with ease. The guitar work is crunch and precise with cool song structures, and the songs flow one to the next almost perfectly. My personal favorite is "Crusades," but every track on here is a banger. For real, give these dudes a listen.

Police & Thieves — Fracturing LP (2011)

Track Listing:

1. Thieves Intro
2. All Saints
3. Urgency Of Now
4. Suburban Life Decay
5. Doubt Crusades
6. Campaigns
7. Race To The End

Police & Thieves hail from the hallowed grounds of Washington DC, the intellectual inheritors to a musical tradition decades old. Basically, they sound awesome, mixing energy and passion with impressive songwriting and effort. They are, of course, named after the Junior Murvin song, although most people are probably more familiar with the cover the Clash released on their debut album. They've been around for almost 5 years now, with a couple EPs, a new demo, and now this LP. Go see them live.

Get merch and find show dates athttp://www.myspace.com/policethieves, or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Police-Thieves/22668852750

Amendment Records Sampler 2011

A cool sampler from a label focusing on Spanish hardcore. The language, not the nationality. Lots of variety between the bands, some sort of remind me of Trial, others of like Cold World; also there's an interesting indie tune in the middle. Of special relevance are two preview tracks from an upcoming split between our friends in Police & Thieves and Remission. The P&T tune has a sick tempo change in the middle, and Remission sounds kind of like Outspoken or Turning Point. Some cool canciones on here. Also reminds me how I need to bone up on my Spanish, I can't quite catch everything being said. But for the xenophobic: several of these are in English, or switch between. There's really no reason not to check this out.

Amendment Records Sampler 2011

Track Listing:

1. Contra Todos Mis Miedos — Colera Mental
2. Contra Todos Mis Miedos — 11-22
3. Entrefuego — Heridas Que Aprenden A Sanar
4. Police & Thieves — We're Not The Only Ones
5. Remission — Seeded
6. Invierno — Escondite
7. Columnas — Proclama
8. Shield — Anima Annihilation
9. En Nuestras Venas — Evasion
10. Waterglass — Valley
11. Remission — Love
12. Contra Todos Mis Miedos — Scusarmi
13. Remains To Be Seen — Spirit
14. Approach — Struggle

http://amendment-records.com/

Police & Thieves — The Blizzard Sessions

Four brand new tracks from DC's own. As the name suggests, these were recorded roundabouts of the 'snowmageddon' at the beginning of 2010 in an attempt to put out a new 12". The band wasn't really happy with how the tunes came out sounding, and is actually recording again at Inner Ear to get it right. But they decided to release a couple tracks from the first session anyway, to demonstrate their style and get people stoked on the new record that should be coming out on Youngblood in a few months. And while these songs could use a little mastering and fine-tuning, they nevertheless came out sounding damn good. The songwriting is still hard and melodic, reminding me a little of Staygold or Horror Show at times, and while different from their earlier efforts still is solidly rooted in classic DC jams. Lyrics continue the same trend of personal stories and discontent, with solid delivery by Carlos and a good timing relationship to the music. The guitar gets nice and crunchy too. All told, I'm excited to hear the full length.

Police & Thieves — The Blizzard Sessions Demo '10

Track Listing:

1. Thieves Intro
2. All Saints
3. Suburban Life Decay
4. Race To The End

Police & Thieves hail from the hallowed grounds of Washington DC, the intellectual inheritors to a musical tradition decades old. Basically, they sound awesome, mixing energy and passion with impressive songwriting and effort. They are, of course, named after the Junior Murvin song, although most people are probably more familiar with the cover the Clash released on their debut album. They've been around for almost 5 years now, and are in the process of branding a new album. Go see them live.

Get merch and find show dates at http://www.myspace.com/policethieves, or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Police-Thieves/22668852750

Police & Thieves — S/T 7"

Police & Thieves are probably my favorite band out of DC since, I don't know, Minor Threat? They almost single-handedly hold the reins on that brilliantly unconventional DC Hardcore sound, a la early Dag Nasty or Rites of Spring, except with a solid dose of straight-up hardcore thrown in over the varied rhythm section and melodic inclinations. Indeed, P&T have been near the forefront of harDCore for years now.

I believe I actually found a copy of this 7" in Plan 9, in Charlottesville. I already had Amor y Guerra, their other 7", so I was obviously very excited to find this one so close to my doorstep. Anyway, this record starts off solid and just keeps it up. It's musically varied, and the braided riffs and rhythms the guitars pull off with seemingly no effort is pretty impressive. Carlos has a pretty signature voice, about as sincere as they come, and the lyrics are generally pretty personal and self-reflective, although being from the nation's capital, there's a definite streak of politicism. Backed like a Jersey Girl on the dance floor.

Police & Thieves — Police & Thieves 7"

Track List:

1. Harbors
2. Transparent Smiles
3. …For Ideals
4. Strangers In The Same Town

Police & Thieves hail from the hallowed grounds of Washington DC, the intellectual inheritors to a musical tradition decades old. Basically, they sound awesome, mixing energy and passion with impressive songwriting and effort. They are, of course, named after the Junior Murvin song, although most people are probably more familiar with the cover the Clash released on their debut album. They've been around for almost 5 years now, and last I saw have been writing new songs, hopefully in an attempt at a new album. Go see them live.

Get merch and find show dates at http://www.myspace.com/policethieves, or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Police-Thieves/22668852750