Album Reviews

“Van Down By The River” is the debut album by Break Anchor, a relatively new band featuring Jay Navarro from The Suicide Machines along with former members of Seized Up and The Story So Far (the Chicago band, not the shitty California one). If you like catchy punkrock with gritty vocals, then there is honestly no reason why you shouldn’t check out this bad boy.

Throughout thirteen songs, Break Anchor divide vocal duties between Jay Navarro and Kyle Green, who complement each other beautifully. Musically, they go from hardcore punk in one song to a more Jawbreaker-esque sound in the next. The one thing all the songs have in common is a nice raw and honest sound and equal amounts of energy and melody. There is also a little bit of ska thrown in here but it’s limited to small parts in just two of the songs (“I’m Sorry”, “Acronyms”).

 “Van Down By The River” will most likely not be the best or the most original album you’ll hear this year, but it is a solid collection of punkrock tunes that deserves to be played with the volume cranked all the way up.