Northern Liberties is something of a dark horse in the Philadelphia music scene. Led by artist/poet/writer/drummer/quasi-mystic Justin Duerr, the band draws comparisons to local legends Ink & Dagger and West Philly mainstays, Stinking Lizaveta, but hasn’t achieved the same widespread recognition as these groups. It’s possible that this plays a part in the title of Northern Liberties’ new album, Secret Revolution, but then again maybe not. One never knows. The band is as strong, as menacing, and as idiosyncratic as ever. Plowing through nineteen songs in about an hour can be a lot to take in, but by and large it’s worth the time. The sound of two drummers and a distorted bass is primitive and abrasive, to great effect. Brothers, Justin and Marc Duerr lock in to create rumbling, hi-hat and tom-driven jungle grooves that accent on odd beats and fill at unexpected times. Over top of this is Justin Duerr belting out his poetry in an intense snarl. The music works because of its uncompromising individuality. Northern Liberties can be described as punk, alt-rock, and/or experimental, but each of these genres has specific inherent characteristics that Duerr uses and discards as needed. A song like “Midnight Train to the Dogfood Factory” resembles the Talking Heads with its pounding drums and free association lyrics, while the drone and acoustic guitar on “Beyond Beyond” brings to mind early Leonard Cohen. The lyrics succeed despite their revolving around desperation, alienation and poetic flights of fancy. These themes and style have not only been done to death, but often executed poorly enough to almost come off as parody. However, the strong sense of Duerr’s personality dominates the work and keeps it from coming off as derivative or mediocre. The combination of dark poetry and intense, bleak music creates many striking moments, especially in the anti-war martyrdom of the song, “Don’t Kill My Sister.” The band raises hell with driving basslines and especially thunderous drums. Cymbal crashes sound like explosions as Duerr repeats “Rain them down/Rain them down on me.” As the cacophony dies down, he pleads “Don’t kill my sister/with your bombs and your guns/don’t take away the moonlight.” In many ways, this sums up Secret Revolution. The music, while aggressive and defiant, isn’t quite metal, punk, or even avant-garde noise. It is, however, very effective. Similarly, war has become a hot subject in just about every genre of music, but few songwriters can capture their feelings on the subject as poignantly as this, or in so few lines.
By: Jack Firneno from Wonkavision magazine
Rating: 4/5