The Effort – WARTIME CITIZENS CD

From the first breaths on the opening track “Price Of Man(ipulation)” to the shrill end of the closer and title track, Wartime Citizens, THE EFFORT’s most recent offering is a visceral, desperate and personal attack on the American dream. With lyrics like “We give ourselves these mindless jobs, so no one else could ever guess or know that we are all full of shit, passed by Uncle Sam himself”. It is clear that EFFORT front man and lyricist Tony Auger is filled with an anger that is so perfectly captured in the poignant and timely sonic assault that this Massachusetts quintet deliver. Not even Alaskan maverick, Sarah Palin, is safe from the lash of Auger’s pen. The song “Dear Sarah,” is an open letter posed to Sarah herself. Modern hardcore has long needed a breath of originality. The classically un-hardcore musicality that Wartime Citizens delivers is a testament to the fact that THE EFFORT is more than capable of carrying the torch in hardcore’s tiresome race for progression. Swift driving melody laced with elusive sharp edges, a-la DANGERS/ TOUCHE AMORE, THE EFFORT’s Wartime Citizens can easily stand tall amongst both relevant contemporaries and revered predecessors.