Genuine Sense of …Something

At first The Warriors’ newest album sounds like what mainstream music listeners expect hardcore to sound like. Driving beat, check; incoherent vocals, check; the sense that poor little suburban kids have something trite to whine about, check. But Genuine Sense of Outrage has something else going for it: musicianship.With guitar riffs ripe for Warped Tour, The Warriors’ music is far more interesting than the nearly incomprehensible screaming that it supports. Judging from the album’s title The Warriors clearly have something to say—if only listeners could make out what that is. The drumming and guitar work are impressive, and when the vocals shift to singing, as they do briefly in the ironically titled “Silence is Bliss,” The Warriors’ songs are enjoyable across the board. “Nothing Lasts” may also prove popular for mainstream listeners, with its decipherable lyrics and catchy chorus. Genuine Sense of Outrage in particular lends itself to background music, or maybe blaring in a car with the bass on high.

Genuine Sense of Outrage doesn’t break any ground, musically, but it doesn’t lose any either. As part of the hardcore genre, The Warriors’ work is reasonably solid, and while they may seem inaccessible to mainstream audiences on first listen, their sound grows on those hearing it. Check out Genuine Sense of Outrage if you’re looking to try something new, to familiarize yourself with hardcore, or if the last punk band you listened to were The Sex Pistols or The Misfits. If nothing else, Genuine Sense of Outrage, with its strong rhythm section providing a pounding but artful backbeat, makes for good workout music.