The Secret Life

The first thing you notice is the violin. It saws out high and lonesome and earthy above the rumble of bass and drums. And then you'll realize this is more fiddle than violin; it's American-sounding, raw and sonorous, resonating deep into the ground, past the roots of trees, sighing up to shoot holes in the clouds and drifting back behind mountains. It's the sound of train-tracks, of boots caked with mud and farmhouses and factories and hard life in big cities.

But this isn't country or Americana; it's punk—lean, engaging, minimalist punk songs topping out before the three minute mark. There's some Raincoats vibe, a little Intima, a touch of ESG and Unwound, but with dub, soul, and afro-beat influences it becomes a whole new animal, a refreshing, absorbing, exhilarating living creature, brand-new for a new struggling world. And the joyous spirit of Fela Kuti is right there switching beats alongside Buffy Sainte-Marie and the Pacific Northwest's best DIY originators; the past is there, but it is in no way nostalgic. Ghosts notwithstanding, The Secret Life, the New Bloods' Kill Rock Stars debut, is a focused, concentrated full-toned shot of 2008.