Review Summary: Take My Lunch Money, Mr. York
This will be a short one. So much has been said about Stray from The Path and their fiery political lyricism, Rage Against the Machine inspired riffs and controversial stances. With Internal Atomics, we get more of that but executed on a higher level with more nuance. The album has the hard-hitting the riffs and the breakdowns that shake the earth, but they also feature some softer cuts and more drum-centered instrumentals.
Craig Reynolds, the drummer of Stray from The Path, since joining the band on Only Death is Real has helped to really add a new element to this band. The complexity of his arrangements compliments the simple groovy riffs that Tom Williams lays down. On this most recent record, Reynolds truly shines on tracks like “The First Will Be Last” and “Actions Not Words” where his intricate patterns are mind-blowing and add a progressive dynamic to their established meat-and-potatoes groovy sound.
Drew York’s pissed-off schoolboy shrieks sound as defined as ever and feel as necessary an instrument to this band’s sound as the guitar, bass and drums. Noteworthy are his lyrics on “Ring Leader” and “Fortune Teller” where he uses one of the oldest tricks in the book very effectively; repetition. “Ring Leader” has him screaming, “Have you lost your god damn mind? /Straight jacket, hypnotized” repeatedly, enhancing the common theme of this record about self-expression, individualism, resisting corrupt authority and most importantly, rebelling for a cause.
While a couple tracks like “Something in The Water” and “Double Down” don’t quite pack the punch that other tracks do on this record, they still are solid tracks and in no way or skippable, just a bit less intriguing than others. The song “Beneath The Surface” features lyricism about acceptance of differences in our every day lives and has a much more straight-forward composition compared to others and stands out in a positive way. I feel as if this would be classified as the ‘power-ballad’ of the album because it’s a bit more pulled back and doesn’t feature the instrumental intensity that laces the rest of the album.
I won’t go in too far, but I highly recommend this album for established fans of the band and people who just enjoy good riffs, chunky breakdowns and lots of energy. The guest features add some really strong influence to their respective songs and all in all, the record feels very complete and cohesive.
Top Tracks:
Ring Leader
Beneath The Surface
Actions Not Words
Fortune Teller
