The Bronx, “The Bronx IV” LP

the bronx iv
The new album from the Bronx keeps getting hailed as the band “returning to form” or some such nonsense after two albums as Mariachi el Bronx. Poppycock, I say. While definitely heavier than the mariachi albums, The Bronx IV isn’t the furious, rambunctious tones of the band’s earlier albums.

At one point, singer Matt Caughthran’s vocals sounded like he was shredding his vocal chords with each and every song. The desperate howls of “Bats!”, “History’s Stranglers” or “They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)” are not to be found on IV. Perhaps it’s the crooning to which Caughthran has been accustomed lately, but these songs are sung, not screamed.
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