ALBUM REVIEW: Hunting Lions – King Of the Avenue (Pirates Press Records)
Hunting Lions are a five-piece from the Bay Area of California who were formed at the beginning of the pandemic and this is their debut album.
If the songs sound familiar, that’s because they are: all 10 tracks here have been released before as two separate EPs, Light and Dark (reviewed here).
Those records are almost sold out, so their label Pirates Press has made them available on one LP.
Hunting Lions are Ben Coleman (vocals), Jeremy Catrambone (guitar), Christopher Nascimento (bass), Greg Utter (McEntee) (drums) and Jesse White (guitar).
With roots in acts like Swingin’ Utters, Roadside Bombs and US Bombs, Hunting Lions bring a wealth of experience to the table.
Coleman’s voice is powerful and melodic at the same time, the guitars have a pleasing crunch and the rhythm section is rock solid as they lay down their punk rock ‘n’ roll.
Each of the 10 tracks tells a story, exploring themes of love, loss, and the ever-changing dynamics of life.
Kings Of The Avenue
The LP keeps the running order of the EPs intact, with Dark first, which means it opens with The City, their take on the gentrification of San Francisco. You feel the pain as Coleman sings “the city that I love has slipped away, sinking like the Bismarck to the bottom of the Bay”.
Title track Kings Of The Avenue is next, and its swaggering riffs and gang vocals still remind me of The Old Firm Casuals, as it did when I first heard it.
War highlights the closure of venues, while BNO is the weakest song here, but is followed by one of the strongest, the anthemic Dead Generation.
It’s followed by Light’s opening track Little Girl, written by Coleman for his daughter during the pandemic, while standout track Maggie’s Date shifts the narrative to a teenage girl who’s abused on her prom night, but fights back to get justice.
Good Riddance is a ‘fuck you’ to the sort of person who uses others for their own benefit, and there’s a great cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Hungry Heart.
Nothing Wrong, which closes out the album, is a defiant, angry anthem about being a teenage outsider, and leaves you wanting more from Hunting Lions. 8/10.
