Album Review: Superjoint – Caught up in the Gears of Application (Housecore Records)

Phil’s back & he’s pissed off. This is the first new Superjoint (formly Superjoint Ritual) in 13 years. It’s a new look Superjoint with only Phil & Kevin Bond & Jimmy Bower returning.

While not as disjointed as his Illegals solo album, the influences are there to be heard. Phil does love an aggressive spoken word section but he’s backed up well by some crushing drumming & heavy guitar riffs.

His lyrics are very ‘chip on his shoulder’. He rants about mass media, social media & social justice warriors (SJWs) but that’s a good thing. We want passion & believable lyrics from someone like Phil, it’s exactly what we expect!

It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, coming in at 38 minutes. A good length for music that is this pissed off.

It’s far from a perfect return, the album has its issues but when things hit they hit really, really hard. Burning the Blanket & Ruin You are an early double combo that just slays. It’s hard for Superjoint to top those two but it doesn’t go without at least trying.

Caught up in the Gears of Application, Sociopathic Herd Delusion, Circling the Drain…the album doesn’t let up for even a second, the gap between songs the only chance you’ll get to catch your breath.

The latter of them is a particularly groove-dented number with some real snarl in the vocals but really gets repetitive after a short while.

The ‘anti-internet/media’ lyrics make a return in Clickbait. A song that shares a fair few similarities with Phil’s solo stuff. That comparison pops up a few times throughout but that seemed inevitable.

Perhaps surprisingly It’s Asshole that pulls off the impossible task of being a catchy Superjoint number. The heavy beat as Phil roars ‘shit comes out of it’ is a lot fun. Short & very sweet it’s one of the highlights.

The rest of the album flies by in a blur of aggression & speed but lacks any real memorable hooks. It’s a solid return from Superjoint even if it does lack imagination & shares a few too many similarities with The Illegals.

Overall Track Listing:

1. Today & Tomorrow
2. Burning the Blanket
3. Ruin You
4. Caught up in the Gears of Application
5. Sociopathic Herd Delusion
6. Circling the Drain
7. Clickbait
8. Asshole
9. Mutts Bite Too
10. Rigging the Fight
11. Receiving No Answer to the Knock