Threefold is Chicago’s favorite gimmick punk band. Now, all of you have the impression that gimmick is a bad word. It’s not. It just means a trick, a hook. Threefold has more gimmicks than a used car salesman, both vocally and musically.
“The Night In Question” opens up with some tight two-person harmony. That’s the gimmick on this track. It’s seriously cool. Once the intro is over, the guitars come in, playing some above average riffs. They aren’t the most creative things on this planet (See Ettison Clio), but they aren’t bland. They make me want to move. The happy, upbeat vocals also make me want to move. At least, on some tracks they do. On other songs Threefold presents a raw, emotional front that is gritty and even more pleasing to the ear than the upbeat tracks. The dark punk elegy “She Caught Bitch”, which even includes a choir, features this. The powerhouse vocals are complimented by a writing style that is sometimes intense and personal, and sometimes light-headed and no-brainer. For example, the lyrical gem “A Pessimistic Spin on an Optimistic View” expresses the emotions after the end of a “28 month” relationship, while “Shabbona Dr.” is about the lazy days of summer, featuring the lyric “Hangin on your rooftop….throwin shit at cars.” Nice. Moving on…. Throughout “The Night In Question”, they dabble in many ideas (the aforementioned ‘gimmicks’) like falsetto vocals, screams, vibes, keys, bass features, and even an acoustic song. Some meet with more success than others, but none is ever awful.
This is CD seems like it should be disjointed, but it’s not. It barely hangs together, although I’m not sure why. The songs fluctuate between having a catchy hook, nice guitars, good vocals, and great lyrics, to having none of the above. It’s annoying after a while, because you know they can rock, but this song just doesn’t do it!! But it’s never awful. Analysis aside, this is enjoyable. Certain tracks are worthy of repeating (multiple times), and some aren’t worthy of listening all the way through once. They will be extremely good once they find the keys to good sound: internal editing, and consistency. Right now, it’s an above average punk cd (but not that far above par).