“Give violence a chance.“
When you follow a band for some time, watching them blossom into a project that goes toe to toe on an international level is extremely satisfying. It’s now Shooting Daggers’ moment: their first LP with their best material yet, pooling their experiences (good and bad) from the DIY punk scene towards a fully-fledged offering. Their various EPs and singles have been very solid, and as a live act they’ve appeared across the UK to support stalwarts such as Scowl, Zulu, and Gel, plus Cult of Luna’s curated Beyond the Redshift festival (not to mention upcoming dates with Spaced and Unbroken). Now with Love & Rage they take a confident and serious step forwards.
The order of the day is variety as Shooting Daggers have targeted multiple genres with Love & Rage. There are hardcore tracks like “Dare”, “Wipeout” and “Bad Seeds”, all of which are micro-bursts of aggression. There are straight-up slow(ish) tempo punk songs like the single “Smug” and “Tunnel Vision”, bringing the record’s catchiest moments. Without going full-shoegaze, there are two stunning atmospheric tracks: “A Guilty Conscience Needs An Accuser” and title track “Love & Rage”. The latter track is a low-key and chilled out closer, whilst the former is on the heavy side. It really strikes me that Shooting Daggers are very good at this style, and I’d love to hear more in this vein in the future. The record closes on “Caves-Outro”, a sombre and succinct piano ballad.
In queer punk fashion, the songs on Love & Rage cover hyper-relevant topics to the scene and the age we live in. “Dare” kicks off the record with an anthem for absolute bodily autonomy: “Tape your bloody chest / do it yourself”. The message of “Dare to feel alive”, no matter what anyone else thinks, is particularly timely. “Not My Rival” is a call for solidarity among women to turn the torches against actual rulers (fittingly, it was first released on a split with Death Pill). It’s not a chorus-y track, but the backing vocals will inspire callbacks (“We’re the new generation that shake things up / No more romance, we want revenge”). “Smug” spits upon those who cheat the luck-of-the-draw aspects of the DIY scene through nepotism, and go on to forget their roots. There are also some less serious moments: “Wipeout” and “Tunnel Vision” are simply a feel good song about celebrating your talents, particularly if that talent is skateboarding.
The mix and master job puts Shooting Daggers into fully refined sonic territory (produced by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse Studio, and Carl Saff on mastering). A rougher mix would have fit the band perfectly, but you can now hear them with no reservations on the production. Big winners are the vocals, always a huge part of Shooting Daggers with each member grabbing the mic, as well as the guitars which shine on the atmospheric tracks. Ultimately, the variety on show is what makes Love & Rage a memorable and easy-to-spin record.
7/10
Love & Rage releases on the 16th Febuary through New Heavy Sounds, and can be pre-ordered here. Catch the release show on the 22nd in Rough Trade East, London.