{"id":2421,"date":"2013-11-14T11:55:10","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T16:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nowthissound.com\/ntsib\/?p=2421"},"modified":"2013-11-13T22:25:56","modified_gmt":"2013-11-14T03:25:56","slug":"the-architects-border-wars-vol-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nowthissound.com\/ntsib\/2013\/11\/14\/the-architects-border-wars-vol-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The Architects, Border Wars Vol. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Border_Wars_Book_Cover\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Border Wars<\/i> by The Architects<\/a>, is, or will be, a concept album in five parts. Each part will contain both a comic book and a record, intended to be experienced simultaneously. <\/p>\n

Volume 1<\/a>, the comic, written by Brandon Phillips, lead singer for The Architects, and magnificently illustrated by Mallory Dorn<\/a>, is the start of a dense, dark and bloody story of life along the Texas\/Mexico border, full of interesting characters, including but not limited to: an inmate on death row who shares hints of a complicated past; a duplicitous, murderous reality-tv-star sheriff; a mega-church pastor and his estranged son; and a mysterious girl whose appearance – naked and half-dead – adds fuel to the narrative.<\/p>\n

Volume 1<\/i>, the record by the Architects, illustrates the same story in a different but complimentary and congruent way. The bruised jewel-tones and thick black lines of the comic are echoed by the bright brash punkabilly guitars; the lyrics allow the listener to get an idea of the character of the broad outer world of the comic while also illuminating the inner world of individual characters. <\/p>\n

Also, while we here at NTSIB vigorously resist falling into the “sounds like” trap, I have to tell you, it would be reasonable to make comparisons to both Born in the USA<\/i>-era Springsteen and early ’90s Social Distortion. The world may be different – this place The Architects and Mallory Dorn have brought to life is Darlington County<\/a><\/i> if Darlington County was run by Walter White and Jesse was driving around listening to Ball and Chain<\/a><\/i> – but the raw propulsive power and deft compression of a big, complicated story into only a few lines are the same.<\/p>\n

Below is Volume 1<\/i>, in its entirety. All of the songs are strong, but I particularly enjoy Lucky<\/i>, Heartbreaker<\/i> and I Chose Wrong<\/i>. And by “enjoy” I mean “would happily listen to them on a little loop multiple times in a row.”
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