Themes of working-class life run throughout the whole record, along with a rejection of all the modern new-age bullshit fed to us by the internet and various self-proclaimed prophets of success. I hear influences from Oi!, hardcore and streetpunk, all mixed together into a very solid record with a consistently high level of quality. From hardcore-influenced tracks like Man Of Action or Between My Ears, Impact Driver can easily switch to streetpunk anthems with a strong melodic backbone, such as Go Byrds, Against The Ropes or Mohawk Down. I think this will work just as well for streetpunk fans of The Agitators, Lawmaker or The Young Ones as it will for people into bands like The Bruisers or No Time. At the same time, Impact Driver aren’t trying to sound exactly like any of them – they take those different influences and put them together into a sound of their own.
Tech Bro Head Stomp is the standout track of the whole record for me. Apart from being a great song musically, built on a perfect melodic streetpunk foundation, it captures everything this record is really about. It’s a working-class protest against all the shit we’re constantly being told represents some kind of great future. Against all the stupidity the internet keeps throwing at us: billionaire worship, online scams, AI bullshit, the chase for viral fame, passive income, multilevel marketing, endless personal-brand building and all the other crap that comes with it. A world miles away from real work, often built entirely on castles in the air and the idea that anyone can get rich if they just discover the right trick, app or business model.
Impact Driver are good musicians, and they’ve made an excellent Oi!/streetpunk record. But beyond the quality of the music, this record actually has something to say and manages to capture something from our everyday lives. It’s a record for everyone who gets up early and works their ass off to provide for themselves and their family. For everyone who, even in this technology-driven world, still goes to work every day to create something real and understands what it means to live in a world of tech giants, worthless online motivational bullshit and greed that has long since crossed any reasonable line.
At least that’s how this record feels to me. Impact Driver have managed to capture a frustration that I think a lot of people feel around them and turn it into music with energy, melody and exactly the right amount of anger. And that’s why I enjoy this record even more than I would simply for being a damn good piece of streetpunk.
TOP TRACKY: Tech Bro Head Stomp. Union Skin, Mohawk Down
