It's been a while since we heard from Bill Bondsmen. If I'm not mistaken the last record these boys released was the Local Cross single, which according to discogs dates back to 2010 already. Time sure flies. The Bondsmen were already getting a bit more experimental on their last release and they continue to walk that path on 'Overcrowded Control'. It's hard to put the finger on what makes these new songs different from their earlier material. They're not blending new styles into their sound nor do the song structures get more complex, which I thought was the case at first. No, there's nothing too crazy happening on that front. “What's the difference then?” I hear you think. Well, the songs have gotten less straightforward for lack of a better word. You can hear the band worked these songs hard. Perhaps that explains the two year gap between this release and their previous one . However Bill Bondsmen has not mellowed out one bit. Their music is still ferocious and the vocals are as in your face as ever. Tony's delivery guarantuees no listener will mistake Bill Bondsmen for anything other than a hardcore band. Both him and the rest of the band still sound pissed. Although I have no degree in psychoanalysis I've got a feeling the day these guys stop being angry will be the day they die. What probably makes these new songs a bit different as well is the band just got better at playing their instruments over time. This makes perfect sense when you consider that the Bondsmen have been kicking it for about a decade now. By now they outlasted the bands that probably made them pick up their instruments. They are lifers in a genre where most classic bands didn't last more than a few years or in some cases months. With this in mind it makes sense the band is moving away from hardcore's most elementary basics. My favourite track on this single is 'Overcrowded Control'. The walking bass lines in the chorus of said song are awesome. The four string is stealing the show on this one. The song gets wrapped up by Tony letting out one final scream shortly after his last verse: “Welcome home/ It's like you never left/ And this time... you won't.” Nice. 'Untitled' on the flip has a long intro in which the bass player plays one note over a simple drum beat while the guitar feedbacks. During the song one guitar player plays a simple two note line while the other runs wild with some spacey effects. The drums demand more attention in this song than on the opener. Also a good tune. The band released this record themselves and the sleeves are all silkscreened making this a nifty little hardcore single you shouldn't miss out on.
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