Bridge Nine Records – Release Date: 11/05/13

If you think starting an album with an instrumental song entitled “The End” is a bit presumptuous and full of chutzpah, then you’ve come to the right place with Iron Chic’s second full-length album, The Constant One. We could talk about how Bridge Nine Records, (a reputable hardcore label) is an odd fit for what would be presumed to be a straightforward pop punk record, but I think most reviewers covered that with the recent Lemuria LP released earlier this year. The truth is that although Iron Chic is the same arm-around-the-sweaty-stranger-next-to-you anthemic punk rock outfit you’ve come to know and love over the course of their last 4 EPs, (Demo ’08, Shitty Rambo, Split N’ Shit and Spooky Action) and debut LP, (Not Like This) there’s a bit more going on musically and thematically in the grooves of The Constant One. With more rock style riffage evident in “Bogus Journey” and “True Miserable Experience,” the 8-bit videogame styled intro/outro of “Spooky Action at a Distance” and the guest vocals of RVIVR’s Erica Freas on “(Castle) Numbskull” and “Don’t Drive Angry,” you can hear them paint their very own picture of discontent, heartbreak, isolation and friendship with a few new colors added to their musical pallet. That being said, you won’t need to retrain your ears for this one. Iron Chic does what they do best on The Constant One; play heartfelt, emotive punk rock, dripping with gang vocals and springing hope eternally. It is this hope that is the crux of the album. In the face of constant defeats we could easily be compelled to just let our fears and anxieties bury us alive, but we all need to unlock the thing inside us that drives us to persevere.

– Vito Nusret