Down By Law - Revolution Time

Dave Smalley is one of the unsung heroes of melodic punk, with stints in DYS and Dag Nasty as well as taking frontman duties for the first two All albums. After leaving the pop punk originators in 1989 Smalley formed Down By Law, who would go on to record and tour steadily until 2003. Staying true to their musical ideals when many of their contemporaries showed less conviction may have meant sharing less of the limelight than said peers, but it has led to a solid fan base and a large back catalogue of anthemic and hook-laden music. After a six year hiatus 2009 saw them return to touring life, with the album Champions At Heart appearing in 2012. Batteries clearly recharged, the band have only made fans wait for a couple of years for a new release this time around. Revolution Time continues their tried and tested formula, with seven original compositions followed by three covers which pay homage to some of their influences.

Opener ‘New Autonomy’ kicks in with the jangled guitars, melodic bass lines and rough edges which characterise the band’s best material, immediately earning a place in my mental ‘Best Of Down By Law’ list. ‘Paper Cowboys’, meanwhile, is a mellower proposition which hears Smalley’s vocals at their most introspective and brings to mind short-lived Swingin' Utters side project Filthy Thieving Bastards. The next couple of tracks are of the variety of searing punk rock which is to be expected from the band, but a curveball is found in ‘Radio Silence’ and its ethereally acoustic folk sound reminiscent of J. Mascis’ solo efforts. Almost as if scared to let things get too mellow, the band follow this up with street punk brawler ‘New Horizon’ which finds Smalley at his most gravel-throated. ‘Midnight Fighters’, meanwhile, highlights the group’s stadium rock influences – a dicey proposition for a punk band, but then this has always lurked at the edges of their sound and, when it’s done this well, who does it matter too except the punk police?

The album closes with a trio of acoustic covers, starting with the Stiff Little Fingers classic ‘Gotta Gettaway’. Stiff Little Fingers have always been a clear front runner for Down By Law’s biggest influence and the choice to go acoustic brings a brilliant melodic starkness to the cover. Next they get their teeth round the much covered Thin Lizzy staple ‘Whiskey In The Jar’. They step to it admirably, but I can’t help wanting a slightly more thought out cover of the Irish legends – a lesser known track from Jailbreak or a song from the power pop brilliance that is Black Rose could have made for a much more interesting proposition. The album is brought to a close by a laid back rendition of Nick Lowe’s ‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?'. The sweetly jangling guitar and crooned vocals prominent on the track show a side of the band hinted at ever since their inception but only now realised as they grow older and mellower. No bad thing, this change of pace seems to merely give more scope for melodic exploration and here helps to finish the record in fine form.

Revolution Time, as with previous post-hiatus work Champions At Heart, shows no signs of a seven year break – slotting back right in where they fit before, it’s as if the group never left.

Revolution Time can be obtained from Bandcamp here.