.22 - The Worker
(Roydale)
.22 is a rock trio from Chicago. Chicago is a city known for having an intense and overall blue-collar ethic. While it might seem trite at first glance, it is only fitting that .22 have taken their hometown's sentiment to heart and recorded an earnest sophomore effort. This album, The Worker, is filled with ten straightforward rock songs and, keeping in touch with the album's title, front to back Communist-tinged baseball themed line drawings. The conflicting ideologies make for an interesting juxtaposition, but it is one that works and seems natural as the listener gets into the music.
The Worker opens very softly and calmly with the initial strains of "Twain". These opening sounds of Brad W.'s light cymbal work underwritten by a steady kick beat, the playful and vibrant bass of Lindsey G. and Brian O's clear upfront guitar work create a wonderful atmosphere which steadily evolves into a well-assembled rock song. By the time that the vocals enter, the structure and feel is not that far removed from something that would seem at home on some of the more recent Silkworm Records. Just as soon as the song really kicks in, it fades back down and moves right along into "Blackout". This track follows the same sort of building structure as the one before it, but Brian O. cuts in his vocals almost immediately from the get-go. Wonderfully acerbic lyrics, including "think back to times you had/and black out, like your dad", track this early progression but the band isn't content to rest. Shortly after the early calm engulfs the listener, the guys pull their sound together and leave on a thundering climax. This sort of song structure is present to varying degrees over the course of The Worker's length—both "Southwest" and "Hank Aaron" start off very calmly only to move into an intense attention-grabbing rockers; the largely calm and melodic "Academy" fulfills its calming role.
Everything doesn't follow pattern, however. Look to songs like the understated yet remarkably catchy "Limelight" when you want to nod your head a little faster. By mixing up the early sound with the addition of maracas and by crafting a tight, melodic hook, the vocals perfectly embed themselves in the listener's consciousness. Simple, but well-placed guitar work also wonderfully accents this song's bridge. "Standard and Daylight" starts out as a down and dirty funk rocker and remains that way over the course of its four minute running length, even in spite of the mid-song slow down. "Einstein" starts off very slowly but then literally erupts into the biggest balls-out rocker on The Worker. Grinding guitar lines, hot drums full of heavy ride and propulsive bass all work together to create a sum more than their parts. The album's penultimate track, "The Old Man and the Dirty Bottle of Water", keeps the harder rocking attitude from the album's second half rolling along.
Finding a way to create a somewhat unique and signature sound is not too easy for most guitar/bass/drum trios, but .22 have done just that while crafting a wonderfully listenable and engaging album in The Worker. This sound is based a little too much around repetition at times, but that is the sort of minor qualm one could have with most any emerging band. The Worker will be a great album for those calm, early summer evenings and the band promises even better things to come.
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