Wilful Boys, The - World Ward Word Sword [SILVER VINYL] – New LP

Sounds like a mix of the more aggressive side of Australian punk rock, the more powerful and convincing side of 21st century UK punk, and the more rock'n roll side of American HC, moving through different tempos and aggressions as it mows through the set like a banshee on benzedrine with a machete, coming at you with steamrolling rhythms, ripping at it like a chop saw, sounding like a band that's done messing around and ready to chuck some blabbered-mouthed carcasses into the wood chipper, cleaning the wax from your ears with a steel wire drill bit, reaching back to grab some rock influences from the 1970s by the ear holes and eye sockets, grabbing them by the short hairs and buzzing off the long hair, shaking the influences like a paint-can shaker machine, removing the black-tar sludge of the past by dropping it into a vat of kerosene and trichlor and stirring it up with a lawnmower.  Essential listen from Big Neck.  -- winch (green noise)

After 2016’s debut Rough As Guts (Ever/Never) and 2019’s follow-up Life Lessons (Homeless), you’d think The Wilful Boys would be ready to slow things down, maybe stretch out a bit and look into renting a Mellotron. No dice. The Wilful Boys have channeled the planet’s current dire straits, distilled it and churned out some of their most aggressive work. Slated for release in early 2022 on venerable punk label Big Neck Records (home to Lost Sounds, Baseball Furies and more), The Wilful Boys’ third album, World Ward Word Sword, is the band’s definitive statement to date.

Recorded by longtime associate Jordan Lovelace (Brandy, Pampers) at his Spiceworld studio, WWWS is a crusher of a record, running the gamut from sludgy punk to straight up rock. Out of the gate, the 10 track LP kicks off with "Muttley", not quite their standard beer-guzzling tune, but more of a whiskey-soaked exorcism. “A Watched Pot” and “Classic Action” re-affirm that Wilful Boys are masters of chugging rock n’ roll anthems, riddled with nifty songwriting tricks. “Heaven” is grooving noise rock not unlike Metz, but Fisher’s deadpan vocals perfectly balance out the rough as guts guitar. “Better” alternates between introspective verse and explosive chorus, all accompanied by Provenzano’s top-shelf soloing. Any band that ends its record with a ferocious run-through of Discharge’s classic “Ain’t No Feeble Bastard” is far from depleted. The Wilful Boys’ World Ward Word Sword is a call to arms, a sharp-tongued rejoinder, a balls-out rocker and a damn fine album sure to throttle the masses.