Pirates Press Records – 03 May 2024
Starving Wolves stay hungry and avoid the sophomore slump.
There was a bit of a buzz around Starving Wolves when they dropped their self-released full length debut True Fire back in 2020. That buzz is likely to become a deafening roar with their follow up, The Fire, The Wolf, The Fang. Starving Wolves combine punk, hardcore, metal, mariachi and western music in a very tasty stew. Not country music mind you, but western music. Like the kind from old cowboy movies. They expand on the bare bones, bare knuckle assault of their first record and create something surprisingly cohesive. It's damn near artsy, but without an ounce of pretense.
Vocalist David Rodriguez has the perfect voice for this kind of music. That is to say his harsh howl could strip paint. It sits on top of open chord punk riffs that regularly venture into choppy heavy metal territory. On opener “Nothing More” the horns and galloping beat give way to a blast of raging hardcore. “Mixed Blood” is sung half in English and half in Spanish, and is a reminder that racism is not strictly a black and white issue. Side A closer “Right Eye” uses religious imagery in a powerful way, and is ridiculously catchy.
Side B starts off with another earworm called “Alec's Song”. Songs like “Face Down”, “Please Listen” and “Love is Fleeting” have some dark and heavy messages. The Austin quintet manages to save a little optimism for epic closer “Wild Fire”. The Fire, The Wolf, The Fang has 11 tracks that clock in at around 33 minutes, but it feels much more substantive than that. It's the audio equivalent of a high speed ride across a bumpy Texas field in the back of a pickup truck. It's scary at first, but ultimately exhilarating.
If punk's been feeling a bit too safe and predictable lately, check out The Fire, The Wolf, The Fang. Starving Wolves have got a good thing going. All puns aside, these guys seem hungry. I wish I'd paid attention to the buzz back in 2020, but better late than never.
For vinyl fiends: I really like the cover art on this one. It's black and white with muted gold accents. There's a glossy full color inner sleeve too. First pressing is 500 on black, 250 on black and gold galaxy and 250 on black and bone with gold splatter.
Part-time punk writer, suburban dad and angry old man. Follow my adventures on the Punk Till I Die podcast!
