Why listen to Luther? Well, you could ask The Bouncing Souls, Smoking Popes, or The Menzingers, who have all shared stages and vans with the band. If you’re still unsure, you could consult Chunksaah records, founded by The Bouncing Souls, the label that just pressed 1,000 copies of Luther’s brand new full-length record on vinyl.
With an army of punk rock crusaders behind them, Luther must be feeling a bit of pressure in regards to the release of their first full album Let’s Get You Somewhere Else. Will the local foursome do well for the name of Philadelphia? Give the record a spin and find out.
“The Concrete Sound” is a classic Philly punk introduction, bouncy drums and screaming guitars included. Visions of crooning with friends in basements are conjured: initiate nostalgia. The guitar leads aren’t necessarily memorable, but they serve as enjoyable flourishes. The real kicker, though, is the vocal hook in the chorus, “Tell ourselves that these things fade in time.” Judging by the throwback riffage and Lawrence Arms-esque vocals, Luther knows all about the difficulty in ditching old routines.
But three tracks in and not much changes. Just another simple song with an acceptable amount of variation. Luther is not trying anything new in “Heavy Money,” where poppy drums are still driving a team of distorted, playful guitars spitting out basement riffs. To the cultured musician, “sub-par” might come to mind. However, around the third or fourth listen to Let’s Get You Somewhere Else, sub-par becomes lovable and lovable becomes addicting.
“Backyard Fence Appeal” is the first frantic song on the record, both emotionally and musically. Drums get kicked up a notch from the casually punk pace of the first four songs. Guitar harmonies artfully descend during the chorus, as opposed to strict chords, and we even see some plucky, fast-paced, harmonized patterns in the outro. Get excited for the chorus in this one. The lyrics match the musical style impeccably: “Oh my God look at this mess around me!” The guys are still riding the same basic musical routine, but they sure know how to write a hook.
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