Published on Nov 20, 2020
In the world of punk rock supergroups, it just doesn't get much better than this. Seized Up brings together Clifford Dinsmore (Bl'ast), Danny B. (Fast Asleep), Chuck Platt (Good Riddance) and Andy Granelli (The Distillers), and their collective strength makes for an impressive display of hard hitting, hardcore punk the way it sounded in the early-to-mid '80s on this debut record.
“Manic Decompression” starts the listen with thundering percussion as Dinsmore's gruff vocals enter the bristling yet tuneful frenzy, and this intensity continues to the punchy grit of “Human Locusts,” as well as the throbbing bass lines of the post-punk influenced “Disasteroid Mutation.”
The middle tracks offer us the energetic and abrasive “Older And Wiser,” while “Bleeding Fingers” moves a bit more cautiously but certainly no less powerfully in its raw climate. “Terminal Disarray,” one of the album's best, then pushes and pulls with a Dischord Records sort of tension that makes this one of the best tunes present.
The deeper tracks are some of the longest, meaning still under three minutes, and include the kinetic rhythm section of “Taking Back The Neighborhood” and the album closer “Shadow Panther”. A noisy yet still very calculated exit, gang vocals feature on this pounding finish.
While many of their peers are picking up acoustic guitars and finding their inner Bob Dylan, the veterans of Seized Up are clearly still very much upset about the status quo, as they tackle issues like homelessness, gentrification, and religion, among other obstacles in today's society.