Review Summary: word is bond nigga
Since dropping The Youth in 2004, Comadre have been all about playing that racket commonly referred to as punk rock. They’ve released some killer tracks and another great punk album but have failed to really differentiate or more importantly improve upon an already strong sound. Whether you blame it on DIY ethics or just a true blue punk attitude it was hard to ignore that while Burn Your Bones was everything you could have wanted in a punk release, it was also everything you were expecting. Chock it up to optimism, but I’ve always thought Comadre had a little more to them than meets the eye. Between the varied touring lineup(Graf Orlock and kidcrash ), ferocious live show, and genuinely intense instrumentation the five dudes that make up this band seem capable of more than bread and butter hardcore with weird vocals.
A Wolf Ticket takes a step towards doing something different for Comadre, and for the most part, yields some fantastic results. From the moment Hamlet ends and Tannerisms comes crashing it’s pretty clear that *** is going to get ***ed up for the entirety of the very brief listen that is A Wolf Ticket. Speaking of, its brevity is one of its greatest strengths. Tracks flow seamlessly together and the occasional sample provides the only real respite, resulting in a barrage of cool guitar, ridiculous drumming, and the best vocals on any Comadre release yet. It doesn’t last long, but never fails to hold your attention. The kids in this band have grown up a lot and it shows all over this new material. It’s pointless to discuss track highlights because the album stands on it’s own, something that can’t really be said for past albums. It’s easy to hate on how quickly this is all over but when you listen to the frenetic breakdown at the end of Viva Hate Pt. II or revel in the old school feel of King Jeremy theres no reason to be pessimistic. After all, Comadre is still all about having a good time and the latter of those tracks is probably the most uplifting song Comadre has written(and for the first time Van Morrison and Kid Dynamite feel at home on the same track). Plus, the album ends on a great note: Suicides May Have Been Pact is probably the best song Comadre has ever done.
Don’t take it the wrong way: Comadre is Comadre. This release isn’t really progressive. This release isn’t really the next step for the band. Rather, one should treat A Wolf Ticket as its own beast and that is exactly what it feels like. This may not be Comadre's best album, but it is their most matured, well crafted, and confident. The truth is that hardcore and screamo have both been done to death, but Comadre manages to reinvent the sound inside their own little tiny bubble, and their newest record is the first time they’ve made strides towards breaking out of that. It’s not perfect, it’s really short, and the lyrics still aren’t particularly amazing but I’ll be damned if you like up tempo punk and don’t really enjoy this. A Wolf Ticket makes more sense in time and even though it lasts about as long as my sex last night the songs don’t old, and that’s more than I can say for any other band playing anything remotely similar to this.
