Constantines

Kensington Heights (Arts + Crafts)

By Dana Stewart
Published: May 1st, 2008 | 2:15pm

Constantines, from Guelph, Ontario, have been quietly releasing top-quality post-punk records since 2001. Kensington Heights, their first on indie label heavyweight Arts + Crafts, is the band’s fourth full-length and shows that they are not going away anytime soon.

Often compared to Fugazi, Constantines carry the torch of ’90s hardcore music into the new millennium. On previous albums, these Canadians flashed hardcore-emo colors; Kensington Heights shows that the band has truly outgrown any “emo” kind of label.

The album refuses to forget the stripped and thrashing sound that made early ’90s lo-fi so exciting and won Constantines legions of fans throughout the past decade. Fans of Sonic Youth, Sebadoh, or the Pogues will find evidence of their idols on Kensington Heights, due in large part to frontman Steve Lambke’s asphalt-gargling voice.

More than a few songs on Kensington Heights strike a downbeat, sounding wistful and retrospective. In classic punk fashion, the thesis intention of a song is never a secret; one ballad is plainly titled, “Time Can Be Overcome.” Lambke sings, “Now architect / Now archeologist / Now a man / With his hand in the past … Tomorrow’s no burden / Time can be overcome.”

There aren’t really any “weak” tracks on Kensington Heights; the only complaint is that some, like “Life or Death,” don’t make a lasting impact. It’s an enjoyable song but doesn’t seem to go anywhere and would best be used as background music. The excellent tracks, like the churning, engrossing single, “Hard Feelings,” sound like they could only come from Constantines, and Constantines at the top of their form.

Listening to Constantines, one gets the feeling that there’s hope for good, old-fashioned, punk-inspired indie rock, even in 2008.