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The Gauntlet: Stretch Armstrong |
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Stretch Arm Strong is on fire. Day jobs? Gone. Caution? To the wind. Hooks? More than your grandfather's tackle box.
Album of their career? At last!
"Free At Last" redefines and reinvigorates everything great about punk, hardcore and melodic rock with an energetic force you won't find anywhere else. Having spent a decade building a following in the underground, this South Carolina quintet has made the jump to the big leagues, with all of their passion and sincerity intact.
This is a band going for broke, putting it all on the table and proudly wearing their hearts on their sleeves like never before. You can hear where they've been and the stunning urgency with where they're going all over "Free At Last."
Whether they were devastating the Warped Tour with their impassioned pleas for self-empowerment, tossing breakdowns into the moshpit while supporting Good Charlotte or New Found Glory or lighting the darkness at metal-fueled Norma Jean shows, Stretch has always triumphed. Stretch Arm Strong's music is as vital and swaggering as any of their former tour mates in Rise Against, Pennywise or Rancid, with a bottom end that has earned them points with Hatebreed fans to boot.
The guys grew up together in Columbia, South Carolina and cut their teeth on punk like Minor Threat, positive hardcore like Gorilla Biscuits and heavier underground bands like Sick Of It All. Natural leaders full of good humor and empathy, two of the Stretch guys became teachers - jobs they held down while making the seminal "Compassion Fills The Void" and signing a three-album deal with Solid State.
As Stretch traveled the world on summer breaks and other school holidays, they delivered powerhouse anthems straight from the heart on the breathtaking "Rituals of Life," "A Revolution Transmission" and the fiercely ambitious "Engage." The "Engage" album cycle saw the guys leave their day jobs while their families stood in solidarity as they rededicated themselves to reaching as many people as possible.
When the folks at the Syndicate Management, home to such genre-defining bands as Thursday and Shadows Fall, decided to move forward with their We Put Out Records label imprint, signing Stretch as their flagship band was a no-brainer. And on "Free At Last," they've delivered an album that won't only launch a label, but could launch a new musical movement built on positive thinking and sincerity.
Stretch Arm Strong's belief in themselves, their songs, their families, their friends, their audience and each other is crystal clear on "Free At Last." It's high time the rest of the world put equal faith into them. Get ready to be a believer!
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