Unglued Reviews

Although most widely known for the March 2006 incident at Ohio University in which a studentā€™s bicycle bearing a promotional sticker for the band was destroyed by an over-zealous Athens bomb squad, This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb deserve much more media attention for their excellent folk-punk repertoire, which will appeal to fans of Defiance, Ohio and Against Me!ā€™s early material.

This, their third album, kicks off with Jack Johnson ā€“ not a song about the roots musician, but a tribute to the first black boxing heavyweight (ā€?in 1908 it ainā€™t so easyā€¯). As well as this anti-racism sentiment, thereā€™s also a cover of Joe Hillā€™s anti-union-scab anthem Casey Jones, but for the most part they push less of an overt social agenda than on previous releases, focussing instead on slice-of-life stories, such as the frantic What Shall We Do (X2), an ode to singer/guitarist Rymodeeā€™s hometown.

The band combine country-diddly melodies and inflections with punk rock intensity and themes with powerfully honest and affecting results. Eschewing studio chicanery, the straightforward performances are captured in the raw. The tracks donā€™t suffer for the fact that they were recorded on a low budget, and are brimming over with all the passion that money canā€™t buy.

Despite the rough edges, itā€™s hard to resist the twangy campfire sing-along Evil Livinā€™, the rattling rhythm of Little Piece…, or the black humoured MurderMurderMurderMurderMurder. Bassist Terry even assumes the lead vocal role on Better Off Dead, although itā€™s not quite the equal of her Body Count from previous album Front Seat Solidarity.

The record wraps up with The Ballad Of Sonny Liston ā€“ a biographical portrait of the doomed life of the man who lost his title to Cassius Clay ā€“ making it bookended by songs about boxers.

Three Way Tie For A Fifth is a short album that definitely punches above its weight.

Owen Heitmann