ALBUM REVIEW: UltraBomb – The Bridges That We Burn (DC-Jam Records/Virgin Music Group)
UltraBomb are a punk rock ‘supergroup’ founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, four years ago by former Hüsker Dü man Greg Norton.
The Bridges That We Burn is their third album after 2023 debut Time To Burn and 2024 follow-up Dying To Smile, but their first with their new line-up after the departure of original members Finny McConnell and Jamie Oliver.
Norton is joined in the latest incarnation by Derek O’Brien (Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Adolescents) on drums and Ryan Smith (Soul Asylum) on lead vocals and guitar.
It’ll be no surprise given their CVs that they trade in melodic punk played with power and passion, and there are 11 slices of it here, dealing with subjects like the frustrations of modern life and polarising politicians.
Many of the songs were written last summer and reflect the uncertain times many Americans find they’re living in under the Trump administration.
The record kicks off with Darwin Awards, an upbeat song about taking chances in life, but carrying the cautionary warning: “Bad choices make good stories if you live to tell the tale.”
Divert Deflect is angrier and more angular, and it doesn’t take much of a leap to imagine it’s about Trump and his “nothing to see here” style of government.
Lead single Artificial Stars is another upbeat track with a very Hüsker Dü feel thanks to its shimmering guitar lines, while Zombie Zeroes is a heavier track, ending with a real wig-out of a guitar solo.
Latest single No Cap is an anthemic slice of melodic power-pop with a great chorus which will make the moshpit explode when they play it live, while Sicko Rants is about coping with all the crap life throws at you, defiantly insisting “we’re all dead but still alive/fighting hard just to survive, you know.”
Checked Out compares the mundanity of touring to losing your zest for life, and Look Forward in Anger is a defiant message about living life on your own terms, with Smith singing “we won’t be told what we already know”.
BSS, which calls out bullshit, is a bit of a throwaway, as is Last Time, but the album ends on one of its strongest songs, Mosquito Crucifixion, which again features some great guitar work by Smith as he sings “you’re going to die cos you act so dumb”.
Overall, there’s much to enjoy here, and on this evidence, the current line-up of UltraBomb is even better than the first. 8/10.
