The five-piece wastes no time delivering a concise set of songs that don’t all roil and bleed, but rather offer different interpretations melodically in a genre often devoid of such things.

Frontman Ian Shelton’s songwriting is economic, to say the least. In the same way that the band doesn’t waste a second musically, Shelton minces no words, specifically in album opener “Do It Faster,” a song about being frustrated with a friend taking so long that the narrator decides to cancel. The chorus goes: “Waste my time, waste my life/ As I sit and wait for you/ I don’t see, when it’s up to me/ Why I got to be your stooge.” Pretty clear what he’s singing about. In songs so hurried, there’s not a lot of time for grand poetic efforts, and that’s part of the charm of the record.

The record’s highlight comes in the shape of “My Friends Are Having A Hard Time.” Shelton’s hearty, powerful voice shines over the prettiest guitar line on the record, a simple, arpeggiated riff that gives way to a one of the catchier choruses on Life Under The Gun, before resetting itself back into the riff.

“See You Around” is incredibly sonically different from the rest of the record in its instrumentation, where the listener is hard-pressed to find any distortion or gain, but instead is treated to a pensive, soft piece that hears Shelton at his softest and most versatile.

Life Under The Gun is a breezy, quick listen that never quite gives the listener a chance to recover from the song that just finished. Even the aforementioned softness of “See You Around” is capable of whiplash in how much it differs from the rest of the record. Militarie Gun’s debut enters the world at the perfect time, when its thick chords can wash over the listener much like the rays of sun that accompany its release date.

Order Life Under The Gun By Militarie Gun HERE