Band: The Briggs
Album: Come All You Madmen
Genre: Street Punk
Label: Side One Dummy

Tracks:
1. Mad Men
2. L.A.
3. Bloody Minds
4. What Was I Thinking
5. Charge Into The Sun
6. Not Alone
7. Ship of Fools
8. The Ship Is Now Sinking
9. Oblivion
10. Until Someone Gets Hurt
11. Final Words
12. Molly

If there’s two sure fire ways to win me over with an album it’s to have an amazing intro/starter track to kickoff the album and gang vocals. Come All You Madmen the latest effort from Side One Dummy Record’s The Briggs has both of these. The album itself is one crafted for the summer season and late night sing alongs in overheated clubs surrounded by your closest friends. Though the band has been around for quite a few years and released three previous albums, this album is full of youthful rambunctiousness and non stop good times.

As I previously mentioned, “Mad Men,” the lead track on Come All You Madmen is the perfect introduction to the album and The Briggs. It’s like a call to arms for punk fans who haven’t bought in to hair straighteners, tight jeans, and Pete Wentz wannabes that mixes pounding drums with gang vocals that let you know fun times are about to be had. The Briggs follow through with this promise on the very next track, “L.A.,” which comes blasting through the speakers with the force of a fighter jet through gang vocals before you even hear a note. The song is a chant for The Briggs home, but unlike most songs about the city of lost angels, this one is more of an anthem of pride for the crowded streets and polluted skies. It’s a refreshing look on a city that’s had its fair share of negativity in music.

On, “Charge Into The Soon,” The Briggs become a bit more intricate with their guitar work, but the use of gang vocals and a simple hook keep you following along with the pun tones that began the album. Then, on, “Ship of Fools,” we find references to war and our current political state [which is the, “ship of fools”], while on, “Oblivion,” The Briggs give us a more folk influenced song about introspection. Needless to say, throughout the course of only 41 min., The Briggs give us a wide variety of material. It all comes together though, on the final two songs, “Final Words,” and, “Molly,” which takes a step back from the pulsating beats and distorted guitars to discuss death and love. They’re both strong tracks that show a deeper side to The Briggs that is sometimes lost amongst the feel chord chord progressions and tempos of the prior 10 tracks. “Molly,” the official last track is a very simple acoustic song, but as it’s such a different direction than the rest of the album, it really stands out. It’s a song about letting go of what’s happened and those you lost because you’re still alive and there’s more tales to be told in your life. It’s a slow builder that perfectly seal the album and leaves you wanting more.

The Production for this album is truly something amazing. The street punk genre The Briggs hail from is known for the rough, distorted sound that generally comes from bands in this scene, but thanks to a decent recording budget the Briggs were able to make great sounding record that still holds enough distortion to please old school fans. The drums hit hard in your head phones and the gang vocals feel make you feel like you’re at a loss if you don’t join in.

Overall, The Briggs have crafted a fine album of old school punk ethos that manages to radiate in a way that should draw in those who may have not really ventured into the street punk scene. By no means is Come All You Mad Men an album to be overlooked, but if you’re looking for a timeless collection of songs, you may be a bit unimpressed. This album is more a mixture of a lot of great elements from various punk bands than a definitive album in the punk genre. Regardless of that, The Briggs’ Come All You Mad Men is terrific achievement for street punk and is sure to be a contender for soundtrack of the summer [if not the year]./

*Written By: James Shotwell*
GRADE: 7.0/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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