And yet another band celebrating their twenty-year anniversary. STRUNG OUT from California have now reached this magical age as well. An age where many bands start releasing overpriced “Best Of” albums or DVDs to celebrate themselves while simultaneously covering up the fact that they are not as good as they were five or ten years ago. STRUNG OUT doesn’t need to do that, even though they certainly have a whole bunch of songs that fans can never hear enough of. “Agents of the Underground” presents eleven new songs that are so energetic they could knock your socks off. You need to bundle up and hold on tight, because what the five guys from California have captured on this silver disc is hard to believe. Overflowing energy meets hooks, breaks, and singalongs. The whole thing is wrapped in catchy melodies that lift you up and give you energy like a hit of coke. The songs come across with so much energy and joy of playing that I can hardly believe this isn’t a live album. The recording is almost perfect; sometimes the guitar is a bit too loud for my taste, but that is truly a matter of preference and doesn’t hold back this really great album in any way. STRUNG OUT are still with FAT WRECK CHORDS after 20 years, even though they have surely received offers from major labels by now. This reflects true friendship and fair collaboration that has existed since the beginning of FAT WRECK and still exists today. They are still a family. Even if STRUNG OUT may not be absolute underground anymore, they have become what they are now thanks to fans all over the world. They started from the bottom. In this respect, the album title fits like a glove! With “Agents of the Underground,” STRUNG OUT have set up their own powerful monument.
This article was automatically translated by AI.
