Track by Track is a recurring feature series in which artists guide readers through every song on their latest release. Today, Militarie Gun take us through their debut album Life Under the Gun.
After building hype on the road and with their two All Roads Lead to the Gun EPs, Militarie Gun returns to today (June 23rd) with their full-length debut, Life Under the Gun. Acting as both a culmination of the band’s journey thus far and a glimpse into what might lie ahead, Life Under the Gun is 12 tracks of intense, surprisingly catchy, emotionally-potent rock tunes that are begging to be heard live.
Balancing classic influences like The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Rollins Band with the type of modern take on hardcore that makes acts like Turnstile so irresistible, Militarie Gun sound confident and ready to awe on Life Under the Gun.
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“I remember bringing the pieces of the song to band practice and us learning the verse and chorus and then collectively we asked “does the song need a bridge?” And we said “fuck that” and kept the song simply the two parts that go back and forth,” frontman Ian Shelton tells Consequence about album opener “Do It Faster.” “A huge part of what we do is trying to figure out what the right amount of simplicity is, and this one felt right.”
But while the willingness to embrace simplicity is undoubtedly responsible for much of the project’s magic, the subtle complexities that run through their indie punk heaters does just as much heavy lifting. Like Shelton says himself, he’s uninterested in writing songs without substance.
“I didn’t want to write something that felt mindless,” he says of “Never Fucked Up Once.” “I didn’t want this to be critiquing culture surrounding those things but I wanted to explore the idea of regret. We’ve all done and said things we regret so it seems like an easy place to start from.”
Fun enough to mosh to and interesting enough to warrant deep listens, Life Under the Gun is a glorious official “hello” from a band on the rise.
Listen to Militarie Gun’s Life Under the Gun below, followed by Ian Shelton’s track by track breakdown.
