God Should Certainly Care About This Album.
They've already toured with the likes of Linkin Park and Korn, so surely they've already proven themselves in the rock world. Instruction are the latest new band who promise stadium rock, dynamic song structures and the next level of Foo Fighters... but the difference is that Instruction manage to deliver the goods with 'God Doesn't Care', a slick and well polished package that sounds far, far more mature than its debut album status.
The Foo Fighters influences are deep rooted within such tracks as 'Lean On You', which nips in swiftly after 'Great'. Instruction know what they're doing setting 'Great' as the lead in track because the message it contains is clearly heard within the chorus- "Cause I am so fucking great". It's a good song, but any band can write a decent song, the hard part is managing to write another... and another.
'Are You Happy?' ambles past without causing any real impact, but 'I'm Dead' is an entirely different matter. Reminiscent of Hundred Reasons on one of their better days and early U2, it's longer than previous offerings and certainly shows why this band were handpicked to support such dominant names in UK rock.
'Breakdown', the first single to be lifted from this album begins with dirty guitar work and has a filthy sheen of sweat layered over its muscular song structure. Arty Shepherd's vocals begin at a higher pitch than before and suddenly sink into the lower growl of the insanely catchy chorus. The ideal single material, this song should secure the band a large handful of fans. 'Pissed Off Again' brings back the Hundred Reasons imagery and also finds Shepherd's vocals beginning to sound a little tiresome. Nothing special, the song passes by quickly enough at just over two minutes. It's not a bad listen, it's just more of the same but it does mean that the next song, 'Death To The 4 Car Band' has a little more impact. Instruction switch to a toned down groove with the vocals set a little higher than before. 'Feed The Culture' continues on the slower time scale and brings Middle Eastern influences into their music through cunning use of percussion and it's no surprise that a mastermind such as Stephen Perkins is behind this. It's a delicious change to the roughed up vocals and brutal guitar work that has previously been delivered and manages to engage the listener throughout and the inclusion of a sitar also adds to the stunning effect this song has on you.
Returning to more common ground for a New York band, 'Your Punk Sucks' is another listenable track that is pleasant enough to listen to but leaves no mark at all in your memory. 'Types To Exceptions' is more of the same and again, this only heightens the skill that is put into the next track. 'Three Stops Short of Dagenham' is another toned down affair but final track (if you've got the standard version of the album), 'God Doesn't Care If We Blow Up The Fucking World' has the kind of swagger you'd expect from a song with this name. It's a confident rhythmic sway and highly addictive even if it does draw on what most of the album has already covered.
If you're listening to the special edition, you've still got two more songs to listen to- 'TMI' is nothing unusual but does include a rather nice driving stomp which keeps the song at a steady pace throughout. 'If Anything' is a far more interesting listen and has the kind of emotionally charged chorus that just cries out to be sung by crowds. And it will be sung, because Instruction are good at what they do and when they decide to try another style they perform with a flair that defies the fact they're only on their first album.
Instruction are the kind of band who offer pleasure whilst 'God Doesn't Care' is playing but rarely do they strike upon a song that offers a more addictive style. Of course, there are exceptions- 'Breakdown' and 'Feed The Culture' are two outstanding tracks, but overall this is an album which is in danger of perhaps being listened to and then forgotten about once the jewels have been extracted and added to your MP3 player.