This has been a pretty crazy month for new music. We’ve had killer new albums from everybody from Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Shlohmo to Hotel Books and Dance Gavin Dance. It’s been amazing, but it’s getting a bit hard to keep up with. If you aren’t really paying attention, you could miss a real gem. Like the new Gallows album, Desolation Sounds, which was released on April 13th on Bridge 9 Records. Funny thing too, it’s a great album, and Gallows is undoubtedly a great, albeit one with a somewhat unstable past. So instead of letting this actually very impressive release that may not match scale of the other big releases of the month fall by the wayside, we’re going to take things a step further, because to really understand the aggression present throughout Desolation Sounds, you really need the backstory of this cured but determined punk band from the UK.
Gallows formed in Watford, England in 2005, and gained international traction almost immediately following the release of their critically acclaimed Orchestra of Wolves, which was released in the UK, and then distributed in the US via Epitaph Records. They skyrocketed into the collective conscious of the music scene almost immediately, which admittedly must have been somewhat overwhelming for a bunch of punks from Watford, England, but they took it in stride, becoming one of the only fresh faces playing real, honest hardcore punk music. And they played the part too, then lead singer, Frank Carter, was tattooed on stage in the middle of a set one night, and they were banned from the House of Blues Anaheim after some folks at Disney actually decided to listen to their music.
These guys were the real deal, and people were starting to take notice. After the release of Orchestra of Wolves, they had gone on to be featured in Guitar Hero, a Jim Carey movie, and the UK Top 40 Singles list. That’s a pretty impressive rap sheet no matter how you dice it. And there is no need to get into the age old punk argument of “selling out”, these guys were just straight up successful. So much so that the major labels had taken notice, they were picked up by Warner Bros Records for a one million pound record deal for their follow up album, Grey Britain.
But by the end of 2009, only about 6 months after the release of Grey Britain, Gallows had parted ways with Warner Bros. This was the first big roadblock that the band had hit after that meteoric rise to fame, but it didn’t seem to slow them down one bit. After relentlessly touring on Grey Britain, Gallows returned to the studio in 2011, but announced shortly thereafter that Frank Carter would be leaving the band due to creative differences. As I’ve said before, losing a singer is typically the death blow to any band, but not Gallows, they couldn’t give up that easily. Shortly after Carter’s departure, he was replaced by Wade MacNeil of the recently departed Alexisonfire. His vocals fit the punk mentality and sound of the band perfectly, it’s almost if they belonged together from the start. However they were never quite able to gain the same steam they did following their debut album.
But here we are, 10 years after the band’s formation, down a £1 million record deal, and two Carter brothers, and they have gone from major label, up and coming punk superstars to a formidable, mature punk band with an excellent resume, and a dedicated following. But I can’t help but think that they deserve a lot more recognition than they receive. But of course, I doubt it was ever about the fame and the money for these guys. If it was, their music wouldn’t be quite so raw, so aggressive, so passionate. These guys did it for the love, which is why after countless setbacks, they can put out their most mature and sonically refined album yet with Desolation Sounds. It’s still angry, very angry, and it’s still a punk album, but it feels like a masterful rendition of a punk album that most certainly doesn’t deserve to get lost in a flurry of album releases, no matter how remarkable their contemporaries are. Desolation Sounds is an album that deserves attention, Gallows just doesn’t really give a fuck if you give it to them or not.
