With all due respect to their ska years, 2010 marks the height of the Flatliners’ powers. Cavalcade remains one of the best punk albums to come out this year, a refreshing burst of anthemic rock in the vein of fellow Fat bands Smoke or Fire and Dead to Me. The “Monumental” single delivers two B-sides taken from the Cavalcade sessions, revealing that the band has plenty more excellent tunes in their songbooks.
“Monumental” opens the seven-inch, and in case you forgot, it’s a pretty kickass song with a slight Gaslight Anthem vibe. Solid chorus, crunchy guitar, just awesome for everyone involved. Good times. The flipside offers “Christ Punchers” and “Cut Your Teeth,” which would have fit in perfectly on Cavalcade. “Christ Punchers” has a catchy chorus that doubles as a political statement (“I believe in reality”). It’s a short and sweet missive with a strong backbeat. “Cut Your Teeth” is a little rawer. Not as infectious, but still good.
I get why “Cut Your Teeth” didn’t make it on to Cavalcade. It’s good but not great, and the final album’s 12 tracks outclass it. “Christ Punchers,” meanwhile, is so fine it almost makes me angry. I’d be mad at the Flatliners for sitting on this song, except it just makes me more excited for their eventual fourth full-length. If “Christ Punchers” is what the band relegates to B-side status, then what they pick for their album must be gold.
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