"You could say that the Detroit based BILL BONDSMEN play raw, angry hardcore punk and leave it at that. But that’s lazy. And since I’m getting paid by the word, I need to pad this out a bit (wink, wink). I will say that they’ve got the trigger-finger animosity of other compatriots from the Midwest—the guitar scuzz certainly sounds like some of the buzzsaw Cleveland acts like 9 Shocks Terror or the Inmates. Add to that the pure rage of MassHoles (a term of endearment for people from Massachusetts) Out Cold, with whom they shared a split 7" with last year. It’s not a musical carbon copy, but more a similar attitude and feel that the BONDSMEN have to other midwest thrashers all the while adding their own vicious stamp to it.
‘Swallowed By The World,’ is the BILL BONDSMEN ’s first album and it’s not really presenting all that cheery a picture. Just before listening to this album, I was out doing errands. First of all, I drove by a couple of houses that had "for sale" signs in the front yard that said "bank owned." That means they’ve been foreclosed. A sign of the times, no pun intended. Then I got to the pharmacy and, even with my insurance (which is expensive to begin with), two prescriptions cost me 80 freakin’ dollars. But since it’s probably a good idea to pick ‘em up instead of keel over, I get out the ATM card and swiped away. Then I get home, walk in the door, put on ‘Swallowed By The World’, flop down in the recliner and proceed to get bombarded by the BONDSMEN’s fierce sounds. The lyric sheet ain’t too easy to read—even with my new glasses, which also cost a ton of money; but that’s beside the point. Well enough whining about my day. The only reason I bring all of this up is because a quick perusal of the lyrics pretty much lays out what I’d seen and experienced today and I know I’m not alone. These songs scream about lousy jobs, barely having enough money to make your mortgage payments, paying for prescriptions, having the electricity shut off when you can’t pay the bill etc. These guys KNOW the score. A long time ago Bette Midler had an album called "Songs For The New Depression" and that could be an alternate title here. So could "Songs For The New Recession," a soundtrack for today’s economic state and the effect it has on a hell of a lot of people these days.
On this album, instead of going for any sort of slick sound, things sound rougher. Especially with the vocals. To my ears they sound cruder and that’s meant in the most positive sense of the word since it really enhances Gabby’s larynx-shredding utterings. There’s an abundance of go-for-the-throat thrash and other climactic elements as well. The circle-pit inducing breakdown of "Another Wave" is one such moment. So is the stop/start thrash of "It’s Always Darkest After Shutoff," interspersing guitar and bass atonalities, if that’s the right term. Everything comes to a screeching halt for the final cut, "A Bird In The Hand Means You’ve Been Dead For A Few Days" and it’s a slower, desperate-droning song, building up and then slowing down as the guitars mimic the sound of something/someone barely clinging to life before it abruptly ends. Think of the album as a cautionary tale and, as Black Flag sang on "Depression" all those years ago, "they say things are gonna get better—all I know is THEY FUCKING BETTER." ‘Swallowed By The World’ may not make you feel better but it’s still some damned good scream therapy."
--Al Quint, Suburban Voice ‘zine/Sonic Overload radio
-Recorded At Mitch Wolf Studios.
-Mastered by Warren Defever (Iggy And The Stooges, Gories, Thurston Moore, Von Bondies, Destroy All Monsters etc.) at Brown Rice Studios.
-Artwork by Chrisopher Ilth: http://www.pendugallery.com/christopherilth/index.html . Front / Back cover collages were hand made on 12" x 12" matte boards to which the text was applied once the collages were completed. Both collages created from photo copies made from a Xerox machine that was found in a trash dumpster.
