American Steel-Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts
Fat
July 21, 2009

I was a little disappointed upon first listen of American Steel's new album. Destroy Their Future was such a raw piece of punk rock adrenaline that I was expecting more of the same, leaving me scratching my head for a little bit after hearing what I would dub an Alkaline Trio loving dance party. But, I eventually got used to this style, growing to enjoy the majority of it.

American Steel do know how to craft a good song, and Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts has its share. There are woahs, grooves, sing alongs and plain old solid songwriting. The first half of the album is stronger than the second, with the exception of "Finally Alone," which is a good set ending song and my favorite of the album. There are some songs that teeter on the boring side ("Where You Want to Be" is too formulaic), but this album is overall solid, and grows on me with each new listen. Its not exactly what I was expecting, but that turned out to be a pleasant little surprise.

Written by: RF
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