Album Review: Not Like This by Iron Chic

Iron Chic are a melodic punk band who formed in 2009 in Long Island, New York. In 2010 they released their debut album Not Like This on Dead Broke Records. This is my review of it.

Cutesy Monster Man kicks off the album with a mid tempo drum beat, before a bass line and guitar melody join in until they are finally joined by lead singer Jason Lubrano’s almost spoken word style of singing. This style makes Not Like This incredibly easy to listen to and sing along with. Cutesy Monster Man itself is about being frustrated with life and using music to let everything out. The lyrics “I Sold My Soul Now I Age But Don’t Get Old, And To This Day It’s The Best Deal I’ve Ever Made” are some that I really like.

The speed picks up with Time Keeps On Slipping Into The (Cosmic) Future. A song questioning the cycle of life and is it really worth it. It finishes with some fantastic gang vocals (I love a good gang vocal) singing “All I Am And All I Was Is Just, Blood And Dirt And Bones And Mud.” The albums urgency continues with one of my favourite songs on the album Timecop. This song is about being in too much of a hurry to grow up. Something I really can relate to as someone who definitely has Peter Pan syndrome. The lyrics “Remember The Pain Of Growing Up? It May Have Hurt But It Sure Was Fun, It Made Us Who We Are Now, Gave Us A Mystery To Figure Out” are some of my all time favourites.

The fourth song I Always Never Said That is probably the fastest lyrically on the album. After a short polished guitar introduction, then some “whoa-ohs” before the song explodes into life. It’s a song about not taking life to seriously. The lyrics “So Let’s Agree We’ll Always Laugh, Not Miss The Joke And Do What We Can, To Take It All With A Grin, And Not Be So Fucking Humourless” sum up the song and I think they are a great slogan to live your life by.

Not Like This flows along nicely with songs about working for the man, dealing with loss and getting on with different people. The eighth track In One Ear continues the massive sing-along’s that the album offers. It’s about the frustrations and struggles of being in a small band.

The slowest song on Not Like This is Bustin’ (Makes Me Feel Good), a song about not believing in a god is like a calm before the storm of the epic closer Every Town Has An Elm Street. This song is about finding a home wherever you may be. It starts off with a massively sing-able introduction and continues through out .

All of Iron Chic’s songs are full of relatable and intelligent lyrics, huge choruses and brilliant musicianship. They are passionate and chock full of great harmonies. Not Like This really sets a huge marker for how good Iron Chic will become.

Listen to Not Like This here: http://ironchic.bandcamp.com/album/not-like-this

Now Listening To: Say Goodbye by The JBConspiracy