Avenues – ‘We’re All Doomed’ Album Review

If you’ve played punk-rock in the Chicago area, odds are you’ve found yourself on Ashland Ave loading gear into Atlas Studios. Founded in the mid-‘90s to cater to the Second City’s vibrant punk scene, bands as big as Alkaline Trio and Less Than Jake have cut iconic records within its walls. Considered one of the best sounding live rooms in the city, this is where a drummer would want to find themselves – drenched in sweat, drum set digging into a heavy rug placed on the wooden floor – while laying down the bones of a hard-hitting punk LP. So nothing seemed out of the ordinary after drummer Marc-Alan finished tracking his pounding beats here for Milwaukee skate-punk quartet, Avenues. The metallic hardware of the drumkit, the black bags housing cymbals, the sticks in various stages of splintering — all packed away as the cables and the mics were set aside after a successful session. Enthusiasm and excitement for the new record began to set in for Avenues.

That’s when Marc-Alan had a gut feeling.

More accurately, he had diverticulitis. Shortly after recording began, the drummer was diagnosed with the intestinal affliction. Marc-Alan’s case was so severe that for most of 2018 he was hospitalized. Avenues decided to pause their time in the studio, as recording the album took a backseat to Marc-Alan’s recovery. What’s the worst that could happen? Punk is not dead, after all. It would always be there waiting for Avenues, preserved by iconic spaces like the 20-year-strong, knob-twisting temple of Atlas Studios.

With Marc-Alan finally healthy enough to pack his bags and move from Texas to the beer-foamed shores of Lake Michigan, 2019 found Avenues resolved to finish their new record. Just one small problem: Atlas Studios was gone – another brick-and-mortar casualty to the technological advances of the 21st century. A minor setback for a band that had recently cheated death, Avenues soon found Exchange Recording Complex, a studio in their backyard which famously hosted a session by legend David Bowie in 1975. The band wasted little time, spending most of the year tracking the record. As December wound down, a 2020 release seemed imminent.

Covid-19 has entered the chat.

January 20th, 2020: The United States’ first confirmed coronavirus case is in Seattle, Washington. The ensuing months are scary and tragic as the virus spreads across the country. People try to cope by escaping into such geriatric delights as baking bread and solving thousand-piece puzzles. Avenues once again are forced to pause recording.

Over four years, Avenues survived Covid-19, recording studios shutting down, and diverticulitis. Unless aliens descend upon Wisconsin (at this point, who would be surprised?), on November 19th the band will finally release We’re All Doomed on Wiretap Records.

While inspired by classic skate-punk bands, Avenues’ sound is modern. We’re All Doomed isn’t a rehashing of the Bloodstains Across… era. Instead, the album has the gloss of late nineties Green Day or Epitaph Records. Tracks “Drag You Down” or “I Let Go” would have perfectly fit on Punk-O-Rama III, between Dwarve’s “Everybodies Girl” and All’s “World’s on Heroin.” While the album highlight “Lights Out” would have sounded perfectly at home on alternative radio. “Lights Out” is a sing-along anthem that finds the band locking into what it does best: catchy choruses, slinky riffs, fast palm muting, and fills so tight you could bounce a quarter off them. This type of song only gives you two options: pump your fists or play air drum.

Despite the drama surrounding Avenues over the last several years, there is a resilient quality to We’re All Doomed. The album is fun, fast, and dangerous — like bombing a hill. And while there are nods to our current cultural climate – see the field recording of a protest that ends album opener, “Blood On The Moon” or the lines claiming America is in “dire disarray” on closer “Devious” – the album is never preachy.

Avenues exhibit the inherent values of punk, but also the inherent fun. Across We’re All Doomed are subterranean grave sites (“Into the Catacombs”), hypnotic women with blue hair (“Supersonic”) video games (“Starfighter”), and leather straight-jackets (“Straight Jacket”). With catchy choruses and background whoa-oh-oh’s, this is bubble-gum pop chewed by vampire fangs. Perfectly matching this ethos is the album cover, its black and white illustration of a zombie and victim inspired by the classic horror comic Tales From The Crypt.

Times are tough. The future looks grim. Maybe we are all doomed. But with We’re All Doomed serving as your soundtrack, you might find yourself popping an ollie over all the madness.

“We’re All Doomed” drops November 19th via Wiretap Records (US) and SBAM Records (EU/).

Pre-Order the 12” LP vinyl:

Wiretap Records (US) – https://wiretaprecords.com

SBAM Records – https://shop.sbam.rocks

‘We’re All Doomed’ Track Listing:

1. Blood On The Moon
2. Supersonic
3. Into The Catacombs
4. Transistor Radio
5. I Let Go
6. Starfighter
7. Lights Out
8. We’re All Doomed
9. Straight Jacket
10. Drag You Down
11. Devious

Avenues – “Lights Out” [Official Music Video]