Cracktorch's ...Is Not the Problem

Boston has always been a city brimming with aggro-rock outfits, which befits its image as an old, cold colonial town. Cracktorch is the latest in a long line of thunderheaded hard-rock bands from that city, and probably the best of this breed in a while. Boston is also one of the bastions of the coed concept of gents and ladies coexisting in philosophical parity within the context of a musical unit, which appeals to the politically correct presumptions of that city's institutes of higher learning. Because Cracktorch has a female bass player in Staci Fick, they adhere to the legacy already established by such other intergender bands as Helicopter Helicopter, Half Cocked and Trona. It's a syndrome born out of a city having far too many bored college kids running around with nothing better to do than join rock 'n' roll bands.

In the annals of Boston rock, another thing that's become a syndrome is the almighty arch-lunge riff, and Cracktorch is good at it as proven in songs like "Are You Ready" and "Kiss Off"?it's all aggression, sometimes at the expense of more interesting musical dynamics, but if you're looking at it in strictly rock terms, Cracktorch seldom falters. They're not profound like the Hellacopters, but they share many of the same traits, chief among them a seeming belief in the power of rock as a sort of life-affirming crusade. It can be heard in the way they really put the pedal to the floor, rhythm-wise, in a rollicking tune called "Baseball Tavern." But as the name implies, it's the Boston stuff again?they can't escape it, because Beantown is such a loathsome place to live that the idiotic mindset permeates everything. In this case, it's dealing with rednecks in one of the many provincial beer halls surrounding Fenway Park?which also happens to be primo punk turf, and always has been. This is cause for fireworks, and it's this incendiary sense of urgency that Cracktorch brings to the songs on ?Is Not the Problem.

There's an almost Hellacopters/MC5 level of vigor and stamina on the opening cut, "Pulling Plays" (another sports reference), which warns "drugs can always find a friend." It's a hard-hitting testimonial, and never does the band sound tired or drag-assed. They're obviously very dedicated to the rock ethos as way-of-life in a non-bogus fashion. On the inner sleeve, they even preach the gospel in prime Brother JC fashion: "Cracktorch has provided you with the sonic blueprint for the maddening vision of revolution that's been boiling in your brain all these years." On songs like "Cockfight" and "Are You Gonna Waste Your Life Away" one can feel the sweat flying off of their backs as they lunge forward with choreographed precision.

Like previous Boston contenders such as Tree and Bullet LaVolta, Cracktorch likes a little metal in its punk, a little punk in its metal. It's always been a tradition in Boston to mix and meld the two, going all the way back to SS Decontrol. So what Cracktorch is doing isn't really that different, but they do it with aplomb and conviction and enough raw power to even please the revo-retro purists among us. Raise your muskets, yankee motherfuckers.