At The Drive-In - Incurably Innocent

El Paso punks At The Drive-In burnt out at their peak. Last album, 2000’s ‘Relationship of Command’, almost entirely serves as their legacy, and so it’d be no exaggeration to call the expectations on its follow up to be gargantuan. First comeback single ‘Governed By Contagions’ was as cynical and gritty as Cedric, Omar and co. have ever been, and its follow-up, ‘Incurably Innocent’, treads the same path. From the needle sharp riff that opens the thunderous cut onwards, it’s a track that doesn’t relent. Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s vocals were never really intelligible, but the vicious babbling used to provide punches of feeling despite its ambiguity, and this connection is slightly lost on the new single. Musically, ’Incurably Innocent’ undoubtedly makes its claim for hitting as hard as anything from ‘Relationship Of Command’ did, but whether At The Drive-In can remain to be as cutting with their political commentary as they once were is still up for debate.