"I was standing in line getting hit on at the bank," the opening lyric of "Getting Hit On At The Bank" from The Briefs' latest record (Steal Yer Heart) typifies what we've come to love about this group of bespectacled Emerald City punks: dirty, gritty rock with a humorous flair.
That very tone is established early on with the opening track "Genital General" and continues throughout the record. As its title implies, Steal Yer Heart is chock full of punk rock love songs. However, these aren't love songs of the emoish sappy and depressing variety, these are amped-up, energetic songs with plenty of sing-along hooks and danceable tempos. "Criminal Youth" is carries a vintage punk sound and "I Can't Work," one of four songs that clocks in at under two minutes, carries a swift umph that make you want to shout, "Oi!"
Overall, Steal Yer Heart is a welcome addition to the canon of Northwest punk albums. Broken down to its basic parts, the record's 12 tracks can be summed up as grimy punk filled with catchy choruses and enough jangled rhythms to cause a plentiful amount of three-chord destruction through your stereo.