Track Listing

1. Don't Be Scared
2. Strange Dust
3. Changes
4. A.R.E
5. Fuck You Pay Me
6. Headbanger Face
7. Bad News
8. Black Mercedes
9. Street Gang
10. Hey World
11. New York Muscle (Bonus Track)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19965 in Music
• Released on: 2003-03-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Beloved of the über-hip and reprobates alike, NYC's A.R.E. Weapons have a lot in common with their nu-electro colleagues: dirty Gatlin-gun beats, predatory post-punk drone and, of course, famous mates. Unlike their pouting peers though, A.R.E. Weapons don't take themselves too seriously. Their Shaun Ryder-like vocalist calls himself Brain and his snotty attitude rules their eponymous debut album on punk-skool tracks such as "Don't Be Scared", self-homage "A.R.E", the excellent "Street Gang" and early single "New York Muscle" (included as a hidden track). Subject matter is equally adolescent but amusing: perving over girls and strutting around the Lower East Side in NYC looking hard are their main concerns. The car-crash mayhem can get ahead of itself at times, falling into tedious pseudo-Suicide ruts that would make even Alan Vega yawn ("Strange Dust"). At their best though, A.R.E. Weapons are a refreshing break from the heavy-posturing electropunk wave. --Leslie Gilotti

CD Description
Debut album from this New York trio frequently compared to Suicide. Features the singles 'New York Muscle' and 'Street Gang' which chronicle the seamier side of New York punk life.

Customer Reviews

New york electro at it's finest
Acquiring a reputation in their native New York for wild DJ sets and gigs, ARE Weapons came to the attention of Jarvis Cocker through their demo, and the Pulp man promptly got them signed to ultra-cool UK indie, Rough Trade. There's an artiness to the Weapons that usually spells trouble in the melody department, but the trio infuse the minimalistic electro stylings and hip hop leanings with a surprise grasp of lyrical content. For every Suicide pastiche like 'A.R.E.' or early single 'Street Gang', there's genuinely thoughtful reflection such as album closer 'Hey World' where vocalist Brains declares over a string-laden opus "It's still strange to be 30 and feel so alone". Fischerspooner this ain't! Indeed the two finest cuts on this debut bookend everything on here, with opener 'Don't Be Scared' kicking off the whole shebang like a cross between Flowered Up's 'Weekender' and The Stooges as defiant pleas like "People say you're a drug abuser/ Cause you wanna get high" are delivered. There's a positivity amongst the inherent bleakness that is ultimately rewarding, and there's certainly hope for future ARE Weapons releases.