The Flatliners – New Ruin

When I first threw on The Flatliners’ most recent album, New Ruin, it hit me just how long it had been since I last checked in with the long running Ontario quartet.  Over the past several years the band has signed with a major label before returning to Fat Wreck Chords, and despite reaching their twentieth year as a band, has infused some of the throatiest vocals of their career.  Compared with notable contemporaries (i.e. Title Fight and The Menzingers) they haven’t mellowed over the years.  Even when the tempo slows they bare their teeth for healthy segments of each track.  Perhaps I was expecting time to have dulled The Flatliners’ edge, but that’s clearly not the case with New Ruin.

The band’s sonic aggression is evident right off the bat. Opener “Performative Hours” kicks off the album with some of the roughest vocal howls the band has known in quite some time.  Even the accompanying riffs have a somewhat asymmetrical and jarring feel to them.  In between choruses of remarkably clean vocals, Chris Cresswell bears his teeth for a deep cutting performance that pummels listeners with everything shy of a growl.  Once the track does its damage it recedes to a chorus of catchy vocals and easy melody.  As the pendulum swings the band ensures a balance of intensity and memorability that will have listeners both rocking out in the mosh pit and humming along well after the party.  

Balance is a key theme across New Ruin, giving fans a myriad of reasons to tune in and carry on across these eleven tracks.  Those like “Big Strum” straddle the line between stadium filling anthem and a steady swelling thinker, demonstrating the comfort at which The Flatliners shift between tempos and general mood.  For instance, the band puts a little “skip” in their step when “Top Left Door” follows, adding some big gang vocals for excitement and extra attitude to their lyrics while still maintaining much of the subdued nature of the former.  “I want more” sings the band collectively as they march towards the song’s final moments, inviting listeners to join their battlecry.  It’s a very satisfying moment that the band replicates on a grander scale during subsequent tracks like “Recoil” and “Heirloom” to a highly epic effect.  

The album winds things down with the very ballad-esque “Under a Dying Sun,” contrasting The Flatliners’ low-key personae against their usual kerosene soaked enthusiasm.  The subtle balance draws listeners in and evokes an emotional connection.  This is the type of track that solidifies The Flatliners as well rounded purveyors of punk, exemplary of their longevity and reputation within the genre.  

Without question, The Flatliners have matured over the years.  Fans will note that Destroy To Create’s youthful hardcore ska-punk is nowhere to be seen – and that’s just fine.  New Ruin is a solid offering by a band that has embraced many sounds across their twenty years together and continues to age well.  Even if you’re like me and you’ve sat The Flatliners’ last couple records out, you’ll find plenty of new excitement and familiar sounds upon your return.