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The 40 minutes of the album start with a drum intro that sounds somewhat artificial. According to the concert pictures available online, drummer Porl plays a completely normal drum set, yet it still sounds artificial on the album. On the side, Porl also sings in the background, like almost all band members, except for Ehliot, who focuses on his bass playing... and he does that very well. He has to, because the AUTONOMADS play a mix of Dub, Reggae, and Punk, and the bass playing is incredibly important in that genre (says someone who plays bass themselves *fg*).
And so I can hear OPERATION IVY just as clearly as THE CLASH and CHUMBAWAMBA! The latter especially when Perkie, who also plays the synthesizer and the melodica, sings along. The lead singers are Robbie Wild and Eeyun, both of whom also strum the guitar strings. The multi-part vocals come across really well on the album. So musically, everything fits here, even if the first songs are not immediately the highlights of the album. At the latest by the 4th or 5th song, I'm blown away every time! By the 9th song "Breadline Britain," which really picks up the pace, I am very taken with the album. But then, with the tenth and the last, the twelfth song, unfortunately, comes the turning point. Suddenly, the record shifts into an acoustic guitar song or a vocal duet. That just doesn't work :-( Even the catchy eleventh song "Notes from the Underground" can't change that.
Unfortunately, I can't say anything about the lyrics because I don't have a booklet or a lyric sheet. My English is simply too poor to catch the complete lyrics by ear; reading makes translating much easier for me. And since I don't have anything at all, there will be a point deduction as usual.
One plus point is that the album is released on vinyl along with a download code. For that, my thumb goes way up.
Still, I can't give it 8-9 points. These 2 songs at the end spoil this otherwise good record :-(
Therefore, there are only 6 points!
