Localized Only Thunder

If there’s one thing the members of Only Thunder have, it’s credentials. Over the past decade, the group’s five musician’s have been major players the city’s more recognizable punk bands (to the point where it would probably be easier to make a list of the groups they haven’t had a hand in). It’s this prolificacy, coupled with the band’s musical influences—punk, metal, and indie rock, in that order—that make Lower Bounds such a forceful, assertive album. In the song “Airwolf,” singer Justin Hackl howls, “Where are we now?” in a fierce call-and-response chorus that’s reminiscent of the finer moments of ’80s hardcore. In a nod to the Queen City herself, the track “There Is No Peace On Colfax” exhibits the group’s ability to dish up punishing helpings of lament: “Sit back and watch those flames grow higher,” Hackl sings over a technical, coordinated rhythmic offensive. Guitarist Casey Yunko shares vocal duties with Hackl on “Splatter House,” a song that sharpens all of the bands best elements: dueling leads—there are three guitarists in the group—along with crunchy, tight-fisted riffs, and bittersweet bombs of lyrical devastation. But alongside the punk velocity and bursts of speed-metal glory are touches of sprawling, instrumental splendor, the kind that added indie rock to the cultural map over the past few years. It may look like a bit of a mess on paper, but it’s exactly that throw-everything-against-the-wall, make-it-stick-with-sweat spirit that elevates Lower Bounds from pastiche to near perfection. Grade: A