Los Angeles’ Gottlieb is both an anomaly and an amalgamation because in our experience, we don’t think there’s ever truly been a Punk Post-Punk band before. Stay with us a sec, okay? With an invigorating incorporation of the angular guitars and spacious soundscapes synonymous with acts like Killing Joke, Editors or Grave Pleasures fused to the raw, visceral intensity in line with legends like Black Flag and Dead Kennedys or slightly more modern torch bearers like Amen or Have Heart, Gottlieb has emerged onto their own scene with a PRESENCE felt from start to finish on debut The Far Fallen Fruit. Still here? Great! Because it gets even better!
“Pipe Bomb” was the track that did it for us, immediately laying its’ hooks in with the way guitarist Mike Carnarius manipulates his instrument followed by vocalist Andrew Pescara’s gruff, impassioned delivery so it works out nicely that the lead single also happens to be the lead track to start things off! We mentioned local faves Have Heart earlier because reviewing Chris Wrenn’s Fenway Punk on the origins of Bridge Nine Records (Read our review here) recently has caused a revisit of a lot of that label’s roster and HH particularly stood out as contemporaries if they were still regularly out and about especially when you hear a song like “What Are You Worth” from Gottlieb with this bombast of sound that’s like a neverending explosion of guitars, bass and drums.
“American Blood” is Refused and The (International) Noise Conspiracy and The Hives and At The Drive-In all rolled into one fierce barely two minute sonic time bomb while “Dogs Pt 1 (Joy to Distract from Resistance)” sways and swoops in a little bit like The Clash if it wasn’t for Pescara’s in-your-face delivery on each and every song leading into a certifiable Heavy Metal breakdown later within this track.
“City on the Hill” is uplifting, with Dylan Marquez’s bass the star along with Dave Chessey’s dynamic drumming followed by “Optimized Child” which is an all over the place anthem as wailing guitars from Carnarius take center stage and Pescara adopts a low end vocal register to begin that leads into a fiery chorus. “Dogs Pt 2 (The Far Fallen Fruit)” is the rare sequel that gets everything right bringing a faster, stronger, and heavier work while “I Started Carrying A Knife Today” is a fun one with some solid Rawk guitar lines. “White Vans” is hypnotic as this propulsive hum emanates from the combination of sounds as “Sugar Packets” is all about that Post-Punk/Punk connection beginning as a sort of Jekyll & Hyde-style beast laid out in halves before the two sides merge like some mighty magical music monster for a feisty finale.
The Far Fallen Fruit is out now on Quiet Panic and you can find your copy to stream here, as a physical edition here, and in some combination of the two by heading to the embed below! For more from Gottlieb, like where to catch them live and in the wild, head to the interwebs and click here or here for the socials.