Most Underrated Punk Album of 2016 - The Falcon's "Gather Up the Chaps"

Gritty lyrics.  Chugging guitars.  Melodic hooks.  And that classic throaty vocal effect by Brendan Kelly that is unmatched by anyone else in the genre.  This album is everything that punk rock should be.  So why did I hear almost nothing about it last year?  It blew my mind.  

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If any of you follow the band then you already know how fantastic they are.  I'll speak for a few minutes to the people who don't.  The Falcon is a punk rock super group comprised of members of The Lawrence Arms, Alkaline Trio, and The Loved Ones.  Gather Up the Chaps was released a whopping ten years after their last album, Unicornography.  The songs tell various stories about love, drug addiction, fear, drinking, freedom, and writing music, all packaged in fantastic hooks, dark humor that stings of reality, and their unique style.  No one else sounds anything like these guys. 

Rather than going into an epic post about how all those other bands kick ass, (they do) I'll talk about some of the songs on the album for a few minutes.  I think the lyrical content is spectacular, so get ready to experience a little taste.

Clocking in at under 26 minutes, the album starts with..

Track 1 - The Trash.  A hushed whisper of . .  

When we all fall out, the crowd will be shouting, When we all fall out, the blood will be pounding

Then, BAM - - the choppy guitars come in and explode into a 4 chord frenzy.  The darkness says prevalent throughout the song.  The chorus captures the essence of the track.

Take out the trash
Show her the town
Pour in the poison
Try not to drown 

Track 2 - War of Collosus - Official Red Scare Industries Lyric Video

A quick intro, a much softer chorus than The Trash, but they make up for it during the chorus and bridge.  Kelly tells the story of a boy looking at himself in the mirror.

You hate that boy in the mirror
You hate that boy in your clothes
I'm kinda starting to hate that boy too
I don't give a shit if he knows 

Track 3 - Sergio's Here - Official Release

One of my favorites.  It tells in vivid detail waiting on a drug dealer to arrive . . and waiting impatiently for him to get there.  In my opinion, this is the catchiest song on the entire album.  A simple drum beat starts the song, then a double  pounding of rhythm and lead guitar blend with the lyrics beautifully. 

 The moon and the skies are falling, but Sergio's here
Death has come a-calling but now Sergio's here
Do you have the money, girl, I wanna get high
And goddamnit, Sergio's here! 

Acoustic guitar chimes in and the story is told again in a softer tone:

Bathing in the stars. Cool among the graves
Treat it like art, a sweet little mistake
What else has there ever been?
Now baby come near
And maybe bring your money cause Sergio's here 

Personally, I can identify fully with this.  He recounts the emotions with perfect clarity.  I can tell that he has experienced this before.  He is truthful, blunt, and gritty in his delivery.  I have respect for musicians who couldn't care less what the general public thinks.  

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A few more tracks follow after that.  A fast jumble of heartfelt lyrics and rhymes that capture the essence of what punk rock is about.  A tale of a man who lives in an alley, and has territorial issues with people walking through it. A track about a man, afraid to enter a bar and talk to women.  A love song about a guy going down to the railroad tracks with that special someone, bringing drugs to jolt their nerves, while all the time, he is dying on the inside. The Glue Factory talks about how bad a current relationship is, but not to worry, because "nothing this shitty can last"

Two songs are sung by other member of The Falcon.  Both are deeply emotional.  

What a tangled web I weave
I can love her better, 'cause I don't ever leave
Whatever he’s got that I ain’t got
It’s only in my head 

Dan Andriano of The Alkaline Trio leads a triple harmony of singing in his track.  He talks about how beautiful the world is, but how that beauty withers away each time he walks into a bar.  

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Gather Up the Chaps ends with Black Teeth.  It is the ultimate sing along.  

I saw them in concert in Michigan last year.  There were seriously only 200 people in attendance.  But when this song came on, everyone knew all of the words, and you could feel the emotion resonating in the small, dirty bar. It's a song about themselves.  It's a song about their fans.  It's a song about the darkness within us all.  And how this music, their music, helps us get away from that darkness for a little while.  That in their darkness, we receive some light.  Pretty deep stuff.  They close the album with the same lyrics that started it . . and we get a much more clear picture of what they mean now.

Brendan Kelly and myself, after The Falcon show.  

When we all fall out, the crowd will be shouting, When we all fall out, the blood will be pounding

Some members of The Falcon have been criticized for being too intoxicated at shows.  They do not hide the fact that they have issues with substance abuse.  Kelly points out that when "they" collapse at a show, the fans will be rejoicing.  People are jumping up and down.  Their "blood is pounding."  It sounds like he struggles with pleasing his fanbase and his substance abuse at the same time.  In my opinion, some pretty deep content.

A picture from that same show.  Front and center!

This album is pure fire from start to finish.  

The guitar work is simple and layered.  Dan's bass thumps continuously throughout.  It just works perfectly.  The highlight is the vocals though, no question.  Kelly has mastered his craft.  He can switch from a whisper, and softly sung harmony, to that loud, throaty voice, that still captures the overall melody of the track.  

I never skip tracks.  Each one has a message, and delivers on that message. It is absolutely undervalued as an album.  200 people came to their show in Lansing.  I was shocked.  This record blows the crap out of 95 percent of all other recorded music in the genre last year; by a mile.  If any of you are reading this, and love punk music, go support these guys.  See them live. Buy their music.  You will not be disappointed.  I'd love to see them produce something else sooner rather than later. 

What are some of your most undervalued albums?  It does not have to be punk related either.  Any album you feel deserves more recognition that is currently has.  If any of you like what I am doing, would you let me know with an upvote or a comment? Should I continue to do my own punk album reviews?