Review: “Having Fun At Gunpoint” by Good Cop

“I know what you’re thinking. ‘Did he fire six shots or only five’? Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I kind of lost track myself. But being that this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well do ya, punk?” ~ Harry Callahan

Having a band name and debut EP title that sounds like something from a Dirty Harry movie Hertfordshire three piece Good Cop describe themselves as a Chaotic Hardcore meets Emoviolence act that bring together elements of Hardcore, Grindcore, Punk, Emo and Power Violence to create a unique blend of unfiltered leftist aggression. Comprising guitarist and vocalist Eliot Foster whom many will know from his Nintendocore outfit JumpMan, guitarist Tom Stokes and vocalist Alfie Self, they’re men on a mission and that mission is to raise hell…

The expectations of “Having Fun At Gunpoint” by Good Cop before a note is heard is of something shorter than a poison dwarf, faster than a speeding bullet and more abrasive than coarse grain sandpaper and that’s pretty much exactly what the trio deliver over five tracks in seven minutes and sixteen seconds. Politically and Socially aware from the very start, the introduction piece screams of what life is like at for people who are down on their luck and scraping the bottom of the barrel, the ones we should be helping and are tragically letting down. Sonically the band sound like a combination of “Too Bad You’re Beautiful” era From Autumn To Ashes meeting Rollo Tomassi and Napalm Death down a dark alley for a brass knuckle fight with a myriad of influences bleeding through their bandages. Sounding DIY and raw and yet still having an amount of polish, these cuts sound like they were recorded live with a frantic and frenetic energy to them and a go hard or go home attitude. Combining the shrill screams of Emo with bowel clenching Death Metal roars over some complex and interesting riffs that fly fast and loose, the band switch from a more melodic underbelly to bomb blasting breakdowns like a the shifting gears of a truck. While that’s not necessarily a formula is a something that does repeat throughout the first three cuts proper meaning that like the best horror films you’re never quite sure what’s coming next. It happens so fast you have to listen back a few times to make sure you heard it all as your brain simply can’t cope with the pace… and that’s before the they leap headlong into the feral Hardcore Punk rampage of “One Off The Wrist” [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. *Loads Rifle With Anarchist Intent*
2. Waiting For The End Of The World (Let’s Just Do Drugs)
3. Dipsomania
4. A Case Study In Self Destruction
5. One Off The Wrist

“Having Fun At Gunpoint” by Good Cop is out 11th June via Prank Monkey Records