I don't have a great deal to say about this record. I used to regularly visit a record shop in Cardiff called Damaged and in 2008 I decided that I'd go there once a month and buy an LP (this was the same year I bought an LP every Tuesday from Spillers). Damaged mostly stocked punk records and I picked up a good supply that year. In 2009 however, my visits became much less frequent because I wasn't forcing myself to go there. However I still popped in occasionally, and on one trip I bought this record.
I don't think I'd consciously heard American Steel at the time I bought Destroy Their Future, but I'd heard plenty about them and for £7 it seemed like a safe gamble. The fact it was on Fat Wreck Chords should have been my first clue that it wasn't going to be entirely my thing, but I didn't have much to lose.
It's not a bad record but, as far as the punk I like goes, American Steel are a little less exciting. The sound is quite clean and they're not doing much here that hasn't been done before. On the other hand, there are more hooks and catchy moments than I can count. Dead and Gone is a particularly great song, Smile on Me is pretty nice and most of them have some redeeming features but overall there's not much to write home about.
Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 12
Cost: £7 new
Bought: Damaged Records, Cardiff
When: 13/06/09
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
