“If I kicked you in the face, I’m sorry, but I would do it again.” Ian Shelton doesn’t seem like the type of guy to sugarcoat things. After all, when the Los Angeles musician first began making hook-heavy hardcore under his Militarie Gun moniker, he wasn’t writing lyrics; he was recording his vocals off the dome, his preferred method of coping with COVID-19 isolation.
Shelton has long been using his music to deal with personal-life hardships, first with Regional Justice Center, the band he formed after his brother was incarcerated. Five years later, Militarie Gun are impressively huge: They’re touring with Manchester Orchestra. They’re performing onstage with Bob Mould. Post Malone’s a friend and a fan. Shelton has even seriously considered writing for Doja Cat. Militarie Gun are one of the most widely beloved hardcore bands of the decade, but according to their new album God Save The Gunout this Friday, that success means juggling a whole slew of new problems: “Now I’m swimmin’ in a circle/ Yeah, I’m swimmin’ down a drain,” Shelton muses on “Kick,” in that same breath where he’s fantasizing about knocking all your teeth out.
Shelton is the product of a turbulent childhood: His parents were alcoholics, and watching them flip-flop in and out of recovery was all the convincing he needed to, for the most part, steer clear of the stuff himself. He never fully identified as “straight edge,” though, despite his idolization of straight-edge punk heroes like Refused and Minor Threat. As Shelton tells it, casual abstinence from alcohol was working well enough for him until Militarie Gun, having expanded from a solo project into a full band, embarked on an extensive tour following their 2023 debut Life Under The Gun. As many bands are wont to do, Shelton began bookending his gigs with a drink, or a few. Then he started drinking when he was bored in-between shows. Suddenly, he’d eradicated his casual abstinence and fallen victim to disconcerting dependency.
God Save The Gun largely centers around Shelton’s descent into somewhat-madness, though these dispatches come from a highly populated, yet oft-overlooked gray area: He’s not at rock bottom, but it’s a straight shot right ahead of him. Asking for help feels inordinate, but ignoring his proximity to desperation feels irresponsible.
He doesn’t really improvise lyrics these days, but even his premeditated songwriting retains a familial frankness, the type of language you might use while venting to your buddies on a long drive. “All I need is a new obsession,” Shelton shouts over urgent, pinging piano keys on the chorus to “Maybe I’ll Burn My Life Down,” one of the record’s more admittedly tongue-in-cheek moments. On lead single “B A D I D E A,” a spell-along rager many have half-jokingly dubbed the hardcore kid’s “Hot To Go!,” Shelton dodges woe-is-me territory by acknowledging that he’s the one who’s been leading himself towards a similar fate as his less-lucky family members: “I been giving in, giving in, giving in/ Missed by a mile, could have sworn it was an inch.” His lived experiences make him empathetic towards those battling dependence on vices of their own, but he balances it with an overall air of personal accountability. He knows damn well these ideas are bad. He just wants you to hear him out, no pity needed.
While Shelton has plentiful issues of his own, God Save The Gun also touches on how those contribute to the complexities of his interpersonal relationships. He digs into this deepest on the balladic “I Won’t Murder Your Friend,” where his desire to be a reliable support system to a loved one — to feel needed, purposeful — is at odds with his own burdens and the anxieties of hearing even more of them: “I’m feeling weighed down, but I promise that I carry it for you.”
While Militarie Gun’s hardcore roots are apparent in God Save The Gun’s crunchy guitar tones and the slight scorched rasp of Shelton’s vocals, it’s also among their more sonically compelling work. While this isn’t the only pop-leaning record to come from a hardcore-aligned band this year, it’s an absolute blast to listen to: You can hear Shelton’s love of early rock ‘n’ roll in the sweeping, instantly-sticky melodies of standouts like “Fill Me With Paint” and “Throw Me Away,” while the darkly-funny “Thought You Were Waving” warns of the dangers of grinning-and-bearing-it with a college rock slant. The mandolin embellishments of “Laugh At Me,” meanwhile, recall the signature jangle of the Dunedin sound. Shelton’s said that one of the reasons he turned to drinking was to alleviate his boredom: How remarkable it is that he wound up making one of the most thrilling rock albums of the year.
God Save The Gun is out 10/17 on Loma Vista.
